Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-39038 is a clickjacking issue in IBM WebSphere Application Server and Liberty. An attacker could trick a user into visiting a malicious site and hijack that user's clicks, potentially causing unintended actions. The public sources rate it medium severity and do not show active exploitation.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate remediation item. It is not presented as actively exploited, but it affects enterprise middleware and could support follow-on attacks if users are tricked. Prioritize affected production and administrative environments after higher-severity exposed issues.
Technical view
IBM reports affected WebSphere Application Server 9.0 and WebSphere Application Server Liberty 17.0.0.3 through 22.0.0.2. CVSS 3.0 is 4.4 with network attack vector, high complexity, required user interaction, low privileges, changed scope, and low integrity impact. Availability impact is not indicated.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where affected IBM WebSphere or Liberty deployments are in use and users interact with browser-based application surfaces. The bundle does not identify specific exposed modules, configurations, or internet-facing requirements, so asset inventory and IBM advisory review are necessary.
Exploitation context
The sources do not list this CVE in CISA KEV and do not provide evidence of active exploitation. Exploitation requires social engineering a victim to visit a malicious website and successfully hijacking click actions. The CVSS vector indicates high attack complexity and required user interaction.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE description, CVSS vector, IBM advisory reference, and IBM X-Force ID 213968. The bundle does not include exploit details, affected components beyond product/version ranges, or exact fixed versions. Do not assume exposure without confirming deployed IBM levels.
Mitigation direction
- Review IBM advisory 6559044 for official remediation guidance.
- Apply IBM-provided fixes or upgrades applicable to deployed versions.
- Inventory WebSphere Application Server 9.0 and Liberty 17.0.0.3 through 22.0.0.2.
- Restrict access to sensitive browser-based administration surfaces where possible.
- Prioritize user-awareness controls for suspicious links until remediation is complete.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether any assets run the affected IBM product versions.
- Check patch level against IBM advisory 6559044 and X-Force 213968.
- Review application access paths where authenticated users perform sensitive actions.
- Verify remediation through approved change records and version evidence.
- Document any compensating controls if vendor remediation is delayed.
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.
CVE-2021-39038 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
- Medium
- CVSS
- 4.4 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/C:L/S:C/UI:R/I:L/PR:L/AC:H/A:N/RC:C/RL:O/E:U
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:3.0/AV:N/C:L/S:C/UI:R/I:L/PR:L/AC:H/A:N/RC:C/RL:O/E:U1.32.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
4.4MediumVector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/C:L/S:C/UI:R/I:L/PR:L/AC:H/A:N/RC:C/RL:O/E:U
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6559044CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- ibm-websphere-cve202139038-clickjacking (213968)CVE reference · vdb-entry, x_refsource_XF
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.