# CVE-2021-3473: Information disclosure in XClarity Controller (XCC)

> Privileged users can expose backup/restore passwords in FFDC logs when using LXCA, requiring specific administrative actions to trigger.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 13 Apr 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-jcrf-qjqf-vj89

## What is CVE-2021-3473?

CVE-2021-3473 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Lenovo XClarity Controller (XCC), published on 13 Apr 2021. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

An internal product security audit of Lenovo XClarity Controller (XCC) discovered that the XCC configuration backup/restore password may be written to an internal XCC log buffer if Lenovo XClarity Administrator (LXCA) is used to perform the backup/restore. The backup/restore password typically exists in this internal log buffer for less than 10 minutes before being overwritten. Generating an FFDC service log will include the log buffer contents, including the backup/restore password if present. The FFDC service log is only generated when requested by a privileged XCC user and it is only accessible to the privileged XCC user that requested the file. The backup/restore password is not captured if the backup/restore is initiated directly from XCC.

Weakness: CWE-312 (Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information), CWE-319 (Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-3473?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Lenovo Xclarity Controller.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-3473?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-3473 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-3473 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-3473 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Lenovo XClarity Controller (XCC)

- [CVE-2019-6187](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-6187/): Other in Lenovo XClarity Controller (XCC) (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2019-6195](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-6195/): Auth bypass in XClarity Controller (XCC) (medium 4.8)
- [CVE-2021-3956](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3956/): Auth bypass in XClarity Controller (XCC) (medium 4.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-3473 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-3473 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Lenovo XClarity Controller (XCC), published on 13 Apr 2021. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-3473 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Lenovo XClarity Controller (XCC). No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3473/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3473/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-3473
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-3473
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-3473

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-3473/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.