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CVE Record

CVE-2021-38976: IBM Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager 3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, and 4.1 stores user credentials in plain clear text which...

IBM Tivoli Key Lifecycle Manager 3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, and 4.1 stores user credentials in plain clear text which can be read by a local user. X-Force ID: 212781.

MediumCVSS 6.2Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This CVE is about IBM Tivoli / Security Key Lifecycle Manager storing user credentials in clear text. A person with local access to the affected system could read those credentials, creating a credential exposure risk for key-management infrastructure.

Executive priority

Treat this as a moderate-priority infrastructure credential exposure. It is not evidenced as actively exploited or remotely exploitable, but affected systems protect key-management functions, so remediation and credential hygiene should be scheduled promptly.

Technical view

CVE-2021-38976 affects IBM Security Key Lifecycle Manager versions listed by IBM, including 3.0, 3.0.1, 4.0, and 4.1 variants. The issue has local attack vector, low complexity, no user interaction, and high confidentiality impact. The bundle does not provide a CWE or detailed remediation text.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely where affected IBM Key Lifecycle Manager versions are installed on servers that allow local user access, shared administration, weak host hardening, or insufficient file permission controls.

Exploitation context

The evidence supports local credential disclosure, not remote compromise. The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Successful abuse would require local system access or equivalent access to files containing the clear-text credentials.

Researcher notes

The CVSS vector is AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N with score 6.2. The main gap is lack of detailed public remediation text in the supplied bundle beyond IBM advisory references and affected-version data.

Mitigation direction

  • Identify all IBM Key Lifecycle Manager deployments and versions.
  • Review IBM advisory and X-Force entry for official remediation guidance.
  • Restrict local access to affected servers to trusted administrators only.
  • Harden file permissions around application configuration and credential storage.
  • Rotate potentially exposed credentials after vendor remediation is applied.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm whether deployed versions match IBM's affected version list.
  • Verify local users cannot read credential-bearing files.
  • Check whether official IBM remediation has been applied.
  • Review local account access and recent administrative activity.
  • Confirm credential rotation for accounts stored by the application.
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-2021-38976 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
6.2 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.0/UI:N/AV:L/C:H/S:U/I:N/A:N/PR:N/AC:L/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
6.2CVSS 3.0MediumCVSS:3.0/UI:N/AV:L/C:H/S:U/I:N/A:N/PR:N/AC:L/RL:O/RC:C/E:U2.53.6Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

6.2Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2021-38976Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/UI:N/AV:L/C:H/S:U/I:N/A:N/PR:N/AC:L/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, 4.1.0.1, 4.1.1Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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