Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This flaw lets an unauthenticated network attacker send crafted traffic that can make RTI Connext systems flood targets with unwanted traffic. The reported outcomes are denial of service and possible information exposure, which matters most where Connext supports operational or industrial communications.
Executive priority
Treat this as high priority for environments where RTI Connext supports critical operations or is network-reachable. The main business risk is service disruption, with a secondary information exposure concern. Prioritize inventory, exposure reduction, and vendor-guided remediation.
Technical view
CVE-2021-38487 affects RTI Connext Professional 4.1 through 6.1.0 and Connext Micro 2.4 and later. The issue is described as network amplification and improper communication restriction, mapped to CWE-406 and CWE-923. CVSS 4.0 is 8.8 with network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, and no user interaction.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where affected RTI Connext Professional or Connext Micro deployments are reachable by untrusted networks. Systems using Connext for industrial, embedded, or distributed operational messaging should be prioritized for inventory review.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not cite active exploitation, and KEV is false. The published CVSS vector indicates remote, unauthenticated, low-complexity attack conditions, but the provided sources do not include public exploit status or proof-of-concept details.
Researcher notes
Do not assume all DDS or RTI deployments are affected without product and version confirmation. The provided bundle names affected ranges and impact, but does not provide patch version details, active exploitation evidence, or validated exploit artifacts.
Mitigation direction
- Confirm deployed RTI Connext product and version across operational networks.
- Review RTI and CISA guidance for version-specific remediation or mitigations.
- Restrict untrusted network access to Connext communication paths where operationally possible.
- Monitor for abnormal traffic amplification or denial-of-service patterns involving Connext systems.
Validation and detection
- Inventory RTI Connext Professional and Connext Micro versions in production and lab environments.
- Map which Connext services are reachable from untrusted or shared network segments.
- Check vendor advisories for affected-version confirmation and remediation status.
- Review network telemetry for unusual amplification, flooding, or unexpected peer communication.
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-406: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCWE-923: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-38487 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
- 8.8 (4.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
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:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N——Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 4.0 score
8.8HighVector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.rti.com/vulnerabilities/#cve-2021-38487CVE reference
- https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ics/advisories/icsa-21-315-02CVE reference
- https://support.rti.com/s/login/?ec=302&startURL=%2Fs%2FCVE reference
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.
Insufficient Control of Network Message Volume (Network Amplification)
Insufficient Control of Network Message Volume (Network Amplification) represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.
Improper Restriction of Communication Channel to Intended Endpoints
Improper Restriction of Communication Channel to Intended Endpoints represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.