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CVE Record

CVE-2021-38973: IBM Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager 3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, and 4.1 receives input or data, but it does not validate...

IBM Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager 3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, and 4.1 receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly.

LowCVSS 2.4Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysislow

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2021-38973 is a low-severity input validation issue in IBM Security Key Lifecycle Manager. The reported impact is limited to integrity, with no confidentiality or availability impact stated. Exploitation requires high privileges and user interaction, so business urgency is low unless the product is exposed to many administrators or manages highly sensitive key operations.

Executive priority

Treat as a routine patch-management item, not an emergency. Escalate priority if the affected system supports critical encryption-key operations or if administrator access is broadly delegated.

Technical view

IBM Tivoli/Security Key Lifecycle Manager 3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, and 4.1 improperly validates input before processing it. CVSS 3.0 is 2.4: network-reachable, low attack complexity, high privileges required, user interaction required, unchanged scope, low integrity impact, no confidentiality or availability impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to environments running the affected IBM Security Key Lifecycle Manager versions listed in the source bundle, including 3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, and 4.1-related builds. Internet exposure is not established by the sources.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or any cited active exploitation. CVSS indicates an attacker would need high privileges and user interaction, reducing practical exploitation likelihood in well-controlled deployments.

Researcher notes

Evidence supports improper input validation with low integrity impact only. The bundle does not provide exploit details, vulnerable endpoints, or precise fixed versions. Avoid assuming active exploitation or broader product impact beyond the IBM SKLM/TKLM versions listed.

Mitigation direction

  • Check IBM advisory 6515528 for the supported remediation path.
  • Prioritize vendor-recommended fixes for affected SKLM/TKLM installations.
  • Limit administrative access to trusted users only.
  • Review change-control around key lifecycle management workflows.
  • Monitor IBM support for version-specific fix guidance.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory all IBM Security Key Lifecycle Manager installations.
  • Compare discovered versions against the affected version list.
  • Confirm whether IBM advisory remediation has been applied.
  • Review administrative user access for unnecessary privileges.
  • Check security monitoring for unexpected integrity-related changes.
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

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CVE-2021-38973 mapping review

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

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Low
CVSS
2.4 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

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

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
2.4CVSS 3.0LowCVSS:3.0/UI:R/AV:N/A:N/C:N/S:U/I:L/AC:L/PR:H/RL:O/RC:C/E:U0.91.4Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

2.4Low
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2021-38973Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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

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
IBMSecurity Key Lifecycle Manager3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, 3.0.0.4, 3.0.1.5, 4.0.0.3, 4.1.0.1, 4.1.1, 4.1.0Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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