CVE-2021-38878

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2021-38878?

CVE-2021-38878 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (HIGH). This vulnerability in IBM QRadar allows an attacker to impersonate legitimate users or systems due to insufficient authentication during key exchange. It affects IBM QRadar versions 7.3, 7.4, and 7.5. Attackers could potentially gain unauthorized access to QRadar systems.

7.5 HIGH

Authentication Bypass

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability in IBM QRadar allows an attacker to impersonate legitimate users or systems due to insufficient authentication during key exchange. It affects IBM QRadar versions 7.3, 7.4, and 7.5. Attackers could potentially gain unauthorized access to QRadar systems.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

IBM QRadar

Versions: 7.3, 7.4, 7.5

Operating Systems: Linux-based QRadar appliances

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: All deployments of affected versions are vulnerable unless patched.

📦 What is this software?

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

An attacker could gain administrative access to QRadar, manipulate security data, disable monitoring, or use the compromised system as a foothold for further network attacks.

🟠

Likely Case

Attackers could impersonate legitimate users to access sensitive security data, modify configurations, or bypass security controls.

🟢

If Mitigated

With proper network segmentation and access controls, impact would be limited to the QRadar system itself without lateral movement.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: MEDIUM

The vulnerability requires network access to QRadar but no authentication. Exploitation requires understanding of QRadar's key exchange protocol.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Apply security patch from IBM

Vendor Advisory: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6574787

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Download the security patch from IBM Fix Central. 2. Apply the patch following IBM's documentation. 3. Restart QRadar services. 4. Verify the patch was applied successfully.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Network Segmentation

all

Restrict network access to QRadar systems to only trusted management networks

Access Control Lists

all

Implement strict firewall rules limiting connections to QRadar from authorized IP addresses only

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Isolate QRadar systems in a dedicated security management network segment
Implement strict network monitoring for unusual authentication attempts to QRadar

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check QRadar version via Admin interface or SSH: /opt/qradar/bin/qradar_versions

Check Version:

/opt/qradar/bin/qradar_versions

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify patch installation in QRadar Admin interface under System & License Management > Updates

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unusual authentication patterns
Failed login attempts from unexpected sources
Configuration changes by unknown users

Network Indicators:

Unusual network connections to QRadar ports
Suspicious key exchange traffic patterns

SIEM Query:

source="qradar" AND (event_type="authentication" OR event_type="configuration_change") | stats count by src_ip, user

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2021-38878

CVSS v3 Score: 7.5 (HIGH)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

Published: April 27, 2022

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/208756 VDB Entry,Vendor Advisory
https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6574787 Patch,Vendor Advisory
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/208756 VDB Entry,Vendor Advisory
https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6574787 Patch,Vendor Advisory

📋 TL;DR

💻 Affected Systems

📦 What is this software?

Qradar Security Information And Event Manager by Ibm

Qradar Security Information And Event Manager by Ibm

Qradar Security Information And Event Manager by Ibm

Qradar Security Information And Event Manager by Ibm

Qradar Security Information And Event Manager by Ibm

Qradar Security Information And Event Manager by Ibm

Qradar Security Information And Event Manager by Ibm

Qradar Security Information And Event Manager by Ibm

Qradar Security Information And Event Manager by Ibm

Qradar Security Information And Event Manager by Ibm

Qradar Security Information And Event Manager by Ibm

Qradar Security Information And Event Manager by Ibm

Qradar Security Information And Event Manager by Ibm

Qradar Security Information And Event Manager by Ibm

Qradar Security Information And Event Manager by Ibm

Qradar Security Information And Event Manager by Ibm

Qradar Security Information And Event Manager by Ibm

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

Worst Case

Likely Case

If Mitigated

🎯 Exploit Status

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Instructions:

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Network Segmentation

Access Control Lists

🧯 If You Can't Patch

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check Version:

Verify Fix Applied:

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Network Indicators:

SIEM Query:

📊 Metadata

🔗 References

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