# CVE-2021-38949: Information disclosure in MQ

> Local users can read stored user credentials in plain text from IBM MQ, leading to potential credential theft.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.2 (`CVSS:3.0/C:H/AV:L/S:U/A:N/AC:L/I:N/UI:N/PR:N/RC:C/E:U/RL:O`)
- **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:** 16 Nov 2021
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-544j-92pr-w749

## What is CVE-2021-38949?

CVE-2021-38949 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Ibm Mq, published on 16 Nov 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

IBM MQ 7.5, 8.0, 9.0 LTS, 9.1 CD, and 9.1 LTS stores user credentials in plain clear text which can be read by a local user. IBM X-Force ID: 211403.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-38949?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Ibm Mq, Ibm Websphere Mq.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-38949?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-38949 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-38949 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-38949 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Ibm Mq

- [CVE-2026-10575](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-10575/): IBM MQ queue manager is vulnerable to remote code execution (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2026-11375](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-11375/): IBM MQ queue manager is vulnerable to remote code execution (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2026-11378](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-11378/): IBM MQ queue manager is vulnerable to remote code execution (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2022-22489](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-22489/): XML external entity in MQ (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2026-10027](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-10027/): IBM MQ queue manager is vulnerable to unauthenticated remote code execution (high 8.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-38949 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-38949 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Ibm Mq, published on 16 Nov 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-2021-38949 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Ibm Mq. 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-2021-38949/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38949/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-38949
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-38949
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-38949

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38949/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.