CVE-2024-38499
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 · uneditedCA Client Automation (ITCM) allows non-admin/non-root users to encrypt a string using CAF CLI and SD_ACMD CLI. This would allow the non admin user to access the critical encryption keys which further causes the exploitation of stored credentials. This fix doesn't allow a non-admin/non-root user to execute "caf encrypt"/"sd_acmd encrypt" commands.
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 confidenceCA Client Automation (ITCM) contains a privilege escalation vulnerability where non-admin/non-root users can execute the 'caf encrypt' and 'sd_acmd encrypt' commands via the CLI. This allows unprivileged users to access critical encryption keys used for credential storage, enabling them to decrypt and exploit stored credentials.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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
- 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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Verify CA Client Automation is installedLocate the 'caf' executable in the installation path (common locations: /opt/CA/DSM, C:\Program Files\CA\DSM, or check PATH). Run 'caf status' to confirm the product is present.Affected if CA Client Automation (ITCM) is installed on the system
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Check if non-admin user can run 'caf encrypt' commandAs a non-admin/non-root user, execute: 'caf encrypt' and observe whether it accepts input or returns usage without permission denial.Affected if The command executes without requiring admin/root privileges
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Check if non-admin user can run 'sd_acmd encrypt' commandAs a non-admin/non-root user, execute: 'sd_acmd encrypt' and observe whether it accepts input or returns usage without permission denial.Affected if The command executes without requiring admin/root privileges
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Confirm encryption key access vulnerabilityIf either command runs successfully as non-admin, verify it can process encryption operations (provide test input) and observe whether encryption keys are accessible.Affected if Non-admin users can successfully perform encryption operations and access encryption keys
A user is affected if CA Client Automation is installed AND either 'caf encrypt' or 'sd_acmd encrypt' commands can be executed by non-admin/non-root users without privilege escalation.
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 vendor security patch to restrict encryption command execution to administrative/root users only. Verify that non-privileged accounts can no longer access encryption functionality.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-38499 — 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-2024-38499 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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