Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Delta Electronics DIALink may store sensitive information in cleartext. A low-privileged local attacker with access to the affected system could use that information to gain broader control, potentially affecting confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for DIALink systems used in operational or industrial environments, especially shared workstations. The issue is local, but impact is high if an attacker already has foothold access.
Technical view
CVE-2021-38422 is a CWE-312 cleartext storage issue in Delta Electronics DIALink versions 1.2.4.0 and prior. CVSS 3.1 is 7.8 with local attack vector, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, and high CIA impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on workstations or industrial operations systems running Delta Electronics DIALink 1.2.4.0 or earlier. The source bundle also lists affected versions broadly, so asset owners should reconcile exact version scope with vendor or CISA guidance.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not report active exploitation, and KEV status is false. Exploitation requires local access and low privileges, which makes compromised operator workstations, shared engineering systems, or weak endpoint controls the main concern.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports cleartext sensitive information storage and privilege escalation risk, but the source bundle does not include exploit details, proof of active exploitation, or a named fixed release. Treat version scope carefully because source fields are not fully consistent.
Mitigation direction
- Check Delta Electronics and CISA guidance for supported fixes or upgrade direction.
- Restrict DIALink host access to trusted users only.
- Review application directory permissions for excessive local access.
- Protect and rotate sensitive values if cleartext storage is confirmed.
- Monitor suspicious access to DIALink files and privileged accounts.
Validation and detection
- Inventory all DIALink installations and record exact versions.
- Identify systems running DIALink 1.2.4.0 or earlier.
- Review local user access on affected hosts.
- Check whether sensitive data is stored in cleartext by the application.
- Confirm remediation status against vendor or CISA advisory guidance.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-312: Exact CWE lookup
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Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-38422 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ics/advisories/icsa-21-294-02CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information
Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.