# CVE-2021-38901: Information disclosure in Spectrum Protect Operations Center

> A local user can obtain highly sensitive information from IBM Spectrum Protect Operations Center under special configurations.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.1 (`CVSS:3.0/AC:H/A:N/PR:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/AV:L/UI:N/RC:C/RL:O/E:U`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 13 Dec 2021
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-qf83-36x6-5fv9

## What is CVE-2021-38901?

CVE-2021-38901 is a medium-severity vulnerability in IBM Spectrum Protect Operations Center, published on 13 Dec 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

IBM Spectrum Protect Operations Center 7.1, under special configurations, could allow a local user to obtain highly sensitive information. IBM X-Force ID: 209610.

Weakness: CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-38901?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ibm Spectrum Protect Operations Center.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-38901?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-38901 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-38901 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-38901 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in IBM Spectrum Protect Operations Center

- [CVE-2019-4087](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-4087/): Memory corruption in Spectrum Protect (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-4693](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-4693/): Code injection in Spectrum Protect Operations Center (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2020-4955](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-4955/): File upload in Spectrum Protect Operations Center (high 8.0)
- [CVE-2019-4088](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-4088/): Privilege escalation in Spectrum Protect (high 7.4)
- [CVE-2022-22485](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-22485/): Auth bypass in Spectrum Protect Server (medium 5.9)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-38901 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-38901 is a medium-severity vulnerability in IBM Spectrum Protect Operations Center, published on 13 Dec 2021. 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-2021-38901 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: IBM Spectrum Protect Operations Center. 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-2021-38901/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38901/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-38901
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-38901
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-38901

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38901/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.