CVE-2021-38489 HDD Password Stored In Plaintext
High 8.2
Published
Updated
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-38489 and fix it if it is affected.
What it is: CVE-2021-38489 is a high-severity vulnerability in InsydeH2O, published on 3 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-38489 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Affected product: InsydeH2O. 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-2021-38489/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38489/index.md)
Attackers can read the hard drive password from UEFI variables, exposing sensitive data on systems using InsydeH2O firmware.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- An administrator
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2021-38489?
CVE-2021-38489 is a high-severity vulnerability in InsydeH2O, published on 3 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
HDD password plaintext is stored in a UEFI variable.
Weakness: CWE-256
Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-38489?
How do I fix CVE-2021-38489?
No fix has been published for CVE-2021-38489 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Is CVE-2021-38489 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-38489 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-55q7-h555-p52r.