# CVE-2021-38937: Denial of service in PowerVM Hypervisor

> An authenticated user can crash the IBM PowerVM Hypervisor system via a specially crafted IBMi Hypervisor call.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.3 (`CVSS:3.0/S:C/C:N/A:H/AC:H/UI:N/PR:L/I:N/AV:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 10 Dec 2021
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-q983-m4fh-gqhm

## What is CVE-2021-38937?

CVE-2021-38937 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in IBM PowerVM Hypervisor, published on 10 Dec 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

IBM PowerVM Hypervisor FW940, FW950, and FW1010 could allow an authenticated user to cause the system to crash using a specially crafted IBMi Hypervisor call. IBM X-Force ID: 210894.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-38937?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ibm Powervm Hypervisor.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-38937?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-38937 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-38937 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-38937 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in IBM PowerVM Hypervisor

- [CVE-2023-30438](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-30438/): IBM PowerVM gain access (critical 9.3)
- [CVE-2021-38918](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38918/): Security feature bypass in PowerVM Hypervisor (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2022-22445](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-22445/): Privilege escalation in PowerVM Hypervisor (high 7.6)
- [CVE-2021-38917](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38917/): Privilege escalation in PowerVM Hypervisor (high 7.4)
- [CVE-2025-36035](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-36035/): IBM PowerVM Hypervisor denial of service (medium 6.7)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-38937 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-38937 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in IBM PowerVM Hypervisor, published on 10 Dec 2021. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-38937 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: IBM PowerVM Hypervisor. 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-2021-38937/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38937/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-38937
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-38937
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-38937

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38937/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.