CVE-2021-38872
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in IBM DataPower Gateway allows a remote attacker to cause a denial of service by sending multiple requests that consume system resources. Affected versions include 10.0.1.0-10.0.3.0 and 2018.4.1.0-2018.4.1.17, potentially disrupting service availability.
💻 Affected Systems
- IBM DataPower Gateway
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete service outage making the DataPower Gateway unavailable to legitimate users, potentially affecting downstream applications and business operations.
Likely Case
Degraded performance or intermittent service disruptions due to resource exhaustion, impacting application availability.
If Mitigated
Minimal impact with proper rate limiting, resource monitoring, and network segmentation in place.
🎯 Exploit Status
The vulnerability requires no authentication and can be exploited by sending multiple requests, making it relatively simple to execute.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 10.0.1.5, 10.0.2.1, 10.0.3.1, 2018.4.1.18 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6586704
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download the appropriate fix from IBM Fix Central. 2. Apply the fix following IBM's DataPower firmware update procedures. 3. Restart the DataPower Gateway service. 4. Verify the update was successful.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Rate Limiting Configuration
allImplement rate limiting on DataPower Gateway to restrict the number of requests from individual sources.
Configure via DataPower WebGUI: Objects > Processing Action > Rate Limit Policy
Network Access Controls
allRestrict network access to DataPower Gateway using firewalls or network segmentation.
Implement firewall rules to limit source IP addresses allowed to connect to DataPower Gateway
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict rate limiting and request throttling on the DataPower Gateway
- Deploy network-based DDoS protection or WAF in front of the vulnerable systems
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check the DataPower Gateway version via CLI: 'show version' and compare against affected versions.Check Version:
show versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify the version is updated to a fixed version (10.0.1.5+, 10.0.2.1+, 10.0.3.1+, or 2018.4.1.18+) using 'show version' command.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusually high request rates from single sources
- Resource exhaustion warnings in system logs
- Increased error rates or timeouts
Network Indicators:
- Spike in incoming requests to DataPower Gateway
- Abnormal traffic patterns from suspicious sources
SIEM Query:
source="datapower" AND ("resource exhaustion" OR "high request rate" OR "denial of service")