CVE-2021-38489
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2021-38489 is a high-severity Plaintext Storage of a Password (CWE-256) vulnerability in Insyde (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 8.2 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Unsecured Credentials (T1552); ranked at the 2th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SC-28 (Protection of Information at Rest) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2021-34870
Vulnerability Data
HDD password plaintext is stored in a UEFI variable.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Requiring confidentiality protection of information at rest directly stops passwords from being stored in plaintext.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Credential management practices normally include secure storage requirements for passwords.
Encryption and hashing of data-at-rest directly prevent plaintext password storage in files.
Protecting data-in-use can limit exposure of passwords held in memory.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Directly requires secure handling and protection of authentication information, preventing plaintext password storage.
Requires use of cryptography to protect sensitive data such as passwords at rest.
Secure coding practices would prevent developers from writing code that stores passwords in plaintext.
Mandates secure authentication mechanisms that inherently require hashed or encrypted credentials rather than plaintext.
Requires secure deletion of sensitive information, indirectly reducing exposure of stored plaintext passwords.