LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2021-38947: IBM Spectrum Copy Data Management 2.2.13 and earlier uses weaker than expected cryptographic algorithms tha...

IBM Spectrum Copy Data Management 2.2.13 and earlier uses weaker than expected cryptographic algorithms that could allow an attacker to decrypt highly sensitive information. IBM X-Force ID: 211242.

MediumCVSS 5.9Not KEV-listedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

IBM Spectrum Copy Data Management 2.2.13 and earlier used weaker-than-expected cryptography. If exploited, an attacker could decrypt highly sensitive information. The available sources rate this medium severity because exploitation has high complexity, but confidentiality impact is high.

Executive priority

Handle as a planned security remediation with elevated attention for environments holding regulated, backup, or recovery data. It is not evidenced as actively exploited, but successful exploitation could expose highly sensitive information.

Technical view

The CVE describes an information disclosure weakness in IBM Spectrum Copy Data Management cryptographic algorithm strength. CVSS 3.0 is 5.9 with network attack vector, no privileges, no user interaction, high attack complexity, and high confidentiality impact only.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to organizations running IBM Spectrum Copy Data Management 2.2.13 or earlier. Public-facing or broadly reachable management interfaces increase concern, but the source bundle does not identify specific deployment conditions.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not report active exploitation, and the CVE is not listed as KEV. CVSS marks exploit code maturity as unproven and attack complexity as high, so urgency is driven by sensitive-data exposure rather than known widespread abuse.

Researcher notes

Evidence is limited to the CVE record, IBM advisory reference, and IBM X-Force entry. No CWE, exploit details, affected CPEs, or precise fixed version are present in the supplied bundle, so validation should focus on product/version confirmation and IBM guidance.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory IBM Spectrum Copy Data Management deployments and confirm product versions.
  • Review IBM advisory 6525554 for official remediation guidance.
  • Apply IBM-provided fixes or upgrades after change validation.
  • Limit network reachability to trusted administration paths where feasible.
  • Treat affected systems as potential sensitive-data exposure points.

Validation and detection

  • Check asset inventory for IBM Spectrum Copy Data Management 2.2.13 or earlier.
  • Verify whether affected systems store or process highly sensitive backup data.
  • Confirm remediation status against IBM advisory 6525554.
  • Review network exposure for management or service interfaces.
  • Document residual risk if vendor remediation cannot be applied promptly.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
4

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

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.

cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2021-38947 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.9 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.0/I:N/UI:N/PR:N/S:U/AC:H/A:N/C:H/AV:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:C

Official CVE source material

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.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
3Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We 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.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
5.9CVSS 3.0MediumCVSS:3.0/I:N/UI:N/PR:N/S:U/AC:H/A:N/C:H/AV:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:C2.23.6Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

5.9Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2021-38947Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/I:N/UI:N/PR:N/S:U/AC:H/A:N/C:H/AV:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:C

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
IBMSpectrum Copy Data Management2.2.13Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.