CVE-2021-38960
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 · uneditedIBM OPENBMC OP920, OP930, and OP940 could allow an unauthenticated user to obtain sensitive information. IBM X-Force ID: 212047.
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 confidenceIBM OpenBMC firmware versions OP920, OP930, and OP940 contain an information disclosure vulnerability that allows unauthenticated users to obtain sensitive information. This is a network-exploitable issue in the Baseboard Management Controller firmware used for remote server management.
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= op920= op930= op940= op920= op930= op940= op940CVSS 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
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the IBM Power system modelCheck the system label or inventory documentation for the machine type model (8335 Gtx, 8335 Gth, or 7063 Cr2)Affected if The system is an Ac922 (8335 Gtx/Gth) or Hardware Management Console 7063 Cr2
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Determine the OpenBMC firmware versionAccess the BMC web interface, use IPMI command 'ipmi-fru' or 'ipmi-dcmi get asset', or query the Redfish API endpoint /redfish/v1/Managers/1Affected if The firmware version displayed is exactly OP920, OP930, or OP940
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Confirm the BMC network accessibilityVerify if the BMC management IP is reachable from untrusted networks by checking network configuration, firewall rules, or VLAN placementAffected if The BMC interface is exposed to network segments with untrusted users
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Check BMC authentication configurationReview BMC user accounts and authentication settings via the web UI or Redfish /redfish/v1/Managers/1/RemoteAccountServiceAffected if Default or weak BMC credentials are in use, or anonymous/unauthenticated access is permitted
You are affected if you run an Ac922 (8335 Gtx/Gth) or HMC 7063 Cr2 with OpenBMC firmware version OP920, OP930, or OP940 and the BMC is network-accessible to unauthenticated users.
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 the appropriate IBM OpenBMC firmware update for your platform version when available, and restrict network access to the BMC management interfaces to trusted networks or use strong authentication if exposure is unavoidable.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,544.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-38960 — 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-2021-38960 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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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.
- 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