CVE-2021-3723
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedA command injection vulnerability was reported in the Integrated Management Module (IMM) of legacy IBM System x 3550 M3 and IBM System x 3650 M3 servers that could allow the execution of operating system commands over an authenticated SSH or Telnet session.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceA command injection vulnerability exists in the Integrated Management Module (IMM) firmware of IBM System x 3550 M3 and x 3650 M3 servers, allowing authenticated SSH or Telnet users to execute arbitrary operating system commands through insufficient input sanitization in the management interface.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE dataall versionsall versionsCVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify server modelCheck the physical server label or use IPMI/SSH to the IMM to query the system product name. Look for 'System x3550 M3' or 'System x3650 M3' in the hardware inventory or BMC discovery output.Affected if The server is an IBM System x3550 M3 or x3650 M3
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Confirm IMM firmware is presentAccess the IMM via its IP address over HTTPS or connect via IPMI. Query the IMM version using 'ipmitool -I lanplus -H <IMM_IP> -U <user> -P <pass> raw command or check the IMM web interface firmware version page.Affected if IMM firmware version is returned and the server model matches step 1
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Verify SSH or Telnet access to IMM is enabledCheck IMM configuration for remote management protocols. Use 'ipmitool -I lanplus -H <IMM_IP> -U <user> raw 0x32 0x76 0x01 0x00' to query channel access, or log into IMM web UI and review 'Remote Management' settings for SSH/Telnet status.Affected if SSH or Telnet service is enabled on the IMM management interface
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Audit IMM session logs for suspicious commandsReview IMM event logs for command execution entries. Use 'ipmitool -I lanplus -H <IMM_IP> -U <user> -P <pass> sel elist' or access IMM web UI 'Event Logs' to look for unexpected commands or session activity from unrecognised accounts.Affected if Logs show command execution or session activity that was not initiated by authorized administrators
If the server is an IBM System x3550 M3 or x3650 M3 with IMM firmware and SSH/Telnet management access is enabled, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply IBM IMM firmware updates if available; for legacy systems without updates, restrict management network access, enforce strong authentication, disable Telnet, and implement network segmentation with monitoring for anomalous management session activity.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-3723 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-3723 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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