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EdirectoryApplication · Microfocus

CVE-2021-38133

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-09-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 9.2.6.0000 or later.
See remediation →
72/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 · unedited
Possible External Service Interaction attack in eDirectory has been discovered in OpenText™ eDirectory. This impact all version before 9.2.6.0000.

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 · moderate confidence

External Service Interaction vulnerability in OpenText eDirectory allows attackers to induce the server to make outbound connections to arbitrary external services. This could enable reconnaissance, exfiltration, or interaction with internal systems through the compromised server.

MitigationUpgrade OpenText eDirectory to version 9.2.6.0000 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict outbound network connections from the eDirectory server as a compensating control.

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 data
EdirectoryApplication
Affected:< 9.2.6.0000

CVSS 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
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify if eDirectory is installed
    Check for eDirectory processes or services running on the system, or look for eDirectory installation directories on the server
    Affected if eDirectory is found running on the system
  2. Determine the installed eDirectory version
    Use the eDirectory version check command or inspect the product information through the eDirectory administration tools (ndsstat, ndsmerge, or the management console)
    Affected if The installed version cannot be determined or is below 9.2.6.0000
  3. Compare version against affected range
    If version is obtained, verify it is less than 9.2.6.0000
    Affected if Installed version is below 9.2.6.0000
  4. Check outbound network configuration
    Review firewall rules, network segmentation settings, or eDirectory configuration to determine if the server is permitted to make outbound network connections to external addresses
    Affected if Outbound network connections to arbitrary external services are allowed

The environment is affected if eDirectory is installed with a version below 9.2.6.0000 AND the server is permitted to make outbound connections to external services.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 9.2.6.0000 or later
Fixed in 9.2.6.0000
Interim mitigation

Upgrade OpenText eDirectory to version 9.2.6.0000 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict outbound network connections from the eDirectory server as a compensating control.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

eDirectory 9.2.6.0000 or later

  1. Verify current eDirectory version by checking the installed version in the administration console or using the ndsconfig get n4u.server.version command
  2. Download eDirectory version 9.2.6.0000 or later from the OpenText/NetIQ support portal at https://www.netiq.com/support/ or https://support.microfocus.com/
  3. Review the eDirectory upgrade documentation before proceeding
  4. Stop all eDirectory services using the appropriate command for your platform (e.g., ndsmanage or rcnovell-nds on Linux/NetWare, or services.msc on Windows)
  5. Perform a complete backup of the eDirectory configuration, LDAP, and all directory partitions
  6. If upgrading across major version boundaries, review the intermediate upgrade paths documented in the release notes
  7. Run the eDirectory installer for version 9.2.6.0000 or later, following the on-screen upgrade wizard steps
  8. After installation, verify all eDirectory services started successfully
Caveat Review release notes for any configuration changes required during upgrade; some LDAP schema extensions or SSL certificate configurations may need adjustment

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Edirectory Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-38133 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data