CVE-2021-38959 Path traversal in SPSS Statistics

Medium 6.2 Published 17 Nov 2021 Updated 17 Sep 2024

Local attackers can write arbitrary files to protected directories, causing denial of service in IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows.

Exploited in the wild: Not known
Login needed: Not needed
Attackable: Local or same network only
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: None listed

What is CVE-2021-38959?

CVE-2021-38959 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in IBM SPSS Statistics, published on 17 Nov 2021. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows 24.0, 25.0, 26.0, 27.0, 27.0.1, and 28.0 could allow a local user to cause a denial of service by writing arbitrary files to admin protected directories on the system. IBM X-Force ID: 212046.

Weakness: CWE-787

Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-38959?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Ibm Spss Statistics.

How do I fix CVE-2021-38959?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-38959 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.

Is CVE-2021-38959 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-38959 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Sources

Also known as GHSA-rcm8-2mrf-x3cc.