CVE-2021-38989

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2022-03-07 · updated 2026-06-17

Description

IBM AIX 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, and VIOS 3.1 could allow a non-privileged local user to exploit a vulnerability in the AIX kernel to cause a denial of service. IBM X-Force ID: 212951.

Affected products

IBM AIX: from 7.1.5.0 through 7.1.5.36; from 7.2.4.0 through 7.2.4.4; 7.2.5.0, 7.2.5.1, 7.2.5.100, 7.3.0.0
IBM VIOS: from 3.1.1 before 3.1.1.60; from 3.1.2 before 3.1.2.40; from 3.1.3 before 3.1.3.20 — fixed in 3.1.1.60, 3.1.2.40, 3.1.3.20

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: IBM VIOS 3.1.1.60, 3.1.2.40, 3.1.3.20. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/212951
https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6561277
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/212951
https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6561277

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