dbcve.org
Powervm HypervisorOperating system · Ibm

CVE-2024-41781

MEDIUM · 5.9 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-11-22
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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
IBM PowerVM Platform KeyStore (IBM PowerVM Hypervisor FW950.00 through FW950.90, FW1030.00 through FW1030.60, FW1050.00 through FW1050.20, and FW1060.00 through FW1060.10 functionality can be compromised if an attacker gains service access to the HMC. An attacker that gains service access to the HMC can locate and through a series of service procedures decrypt data contained in the Platform KeyStore.

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

IBM PowerVM Platform KeyStore functionality in specified firmware versions (FW950.x, FW1030.x, FW1050.x, FW1060.x) contains a vulnerability where an attacker with service-level access to the Hardware Management Console can locate and execute service procedures to decrypt data stored in the Platform KeyStore. The attack requires prior compromised HMC service access rather than being exploitable remotely.

MitigationRestrict HMC service access to authorized personnel only, monitor for unauthorized service-level access attempts, and apply vendor-supplied firmware updates when available. Consider additional network segmentation of HMC systems.

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
Powervm HypervisorOperating system
Affected:>= fw950.00, <= fw950.b0>= fw1030.00, <= fw1030.60>= fw1050.00, <= fw1050.20>= fw1060.00, <= fw1060.10

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
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/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 checks

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

  1. Check PowerVM hypervisor firmware version
    Connect to the Hardware Management Console (HMC) and run the command 'lssyscfg -r sys -F name,firmware_version' or access the HMC GUI under 'Systems Management > Servers > [Select Server] > System Properties > Firmware' to view the current firmware level.
    Affected if The firmware version falls within any of these ranges: fw950.00 through fw950.b0, fw1030.00 through fw1030.60, fw1050.00 through fw1050.20, or fw1060.00 through fw1060.10.
  2. Verify Platform KeyStore is configured
    On the HMC, navigate to 'Systems Management > Servers > [Select Server] > Service Applications > Platform KeyStore' or run 'lssyscfg -r prof -F name,platform_keystore_enabled' to determine if Platform KeyStore has been configured on any virtual profiles.
    Affected if Platform KeyStore is enabled on any partition profile (the vulnerability only applies when this feature is in use).
  3. Review HMC service-level access accounts
    On the HMC, go to 'Users and Security > User Management' or run 'hmcauth -list' to list accounts with service-level (super administrator) privileges. Cross-reference with authorized personnel list.
    Affected if There are service-level HMC accounts beyond the designated authorized administrators, indicating potential compromised or unauthorized access vectors.

You are affected if your PowerVM firmware version is within the affected ranges AND Platform KeyStore is enabled on your system, combined with any service-level HMC access that could have been compromised.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Restrict HMC service access to authorized personnel only, monitor for unauthorized service-level access attempts, and apply vendor-supplied firmware updates when available. Consider additional network segmentation of HMC systems.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to firmware versions beyond fw950.b0, fw1030.60, fw1050.20, and fw1060.10 (e.g., fw950.c0 or later, fw1030.70 or later, fw1050.30 or later, fw1060.20 or later)

  1. Identify the current IBM PowerVM Hypervisor firmware version using the HMC interface or relevant command-line tools
  2. Determine which firmware version range your current firmware falls into (fw950.xx, fw1030.xx, fw1050.xx, or fw1060.xx)
  3. Contact IBM Support or consult the official IBM PowerVM firmware retention website for the latest available fixed firmware release for your specific PowerVM version
  4. Schedule a maintenance window following IBM's recommended firmware update procedures
  5. Obtain the firmware update from IBM's official fix distribution channels
  6. Apply the firmware update using the standard IBM PowerVM firmware update process via the HMC
  7. After update, verify the new firmware version is applied and confirm the Platform KeyStore functionality is intact
Caveat Firmware updates on IBM Power systems typically require planned downtime; ensure proper backup of system configurations and test the update in a non-production environment first

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

Fix this in Powervm Hypervisor Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing24.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
56.0 hours of engineering $9,520
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $15,232.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-41781 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2024-41781 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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