# CVE-2021-38960: Information disclosure in HMC

> Unauthenticated attackers can obtain sensitive information from IBM OpenBMC systems, requiring administrators to apply vendor patches.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/PR:N/I:N/AC:L/S:U/A:N/UI:N/C:L/RL:O/E:U/RC:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 4 Feb 2022
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-prm8-2hvv-hwfr

## What is CVE-2021-38960?

CVE-2021-38960 is a medium-severity vulnerability in IBM HMC, published on 4 Feb 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

IBM OPENBMC OP920, OP930, and OP940 could allow an unauthenticated user to obtain sensitive information. IBM X-Force ID: 212047.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-38960?

It affects 3 products.


Products: Ibm Power Hardware Management Console \(7063-Cr2\) Firmware, Ibm Power System Ac922 \(8335-Gth\) Firmware, Ibm Power System Ac922 \(8335-Gtx\) Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-38960?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-38960 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-38960 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-38960 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in IBM HMC

- [CVE-2026-16933](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-16933/): Power System Integer Overflow (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2026-17093](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-17093/): Power System Buffer Overflow (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2026-17100](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-17100/): Power System Out-of-bounds Write (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2026-17429](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-17429/): Power System Incorrect Authorization (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2026-17042](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-17042/): Power System Out-of-bounds Read (high 7.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-38960 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-38960 is a medium-severity vulnerability in IBM HMC, published on 4 Feb 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-38960 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: IBM HMC. 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-2021-38960/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38960/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-38960
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-38960
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-38960

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-38960/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.