CVE & CISA-KEV Catalog

CVE-2021-38578

HIGH
7.4
CVSS v3
NVD

Description

Existing CommBuffer checks in SmmEntryPoint will not catch underflow when computing BufferSize.

How to fix

Remediation Available
edk2-aarch64Amazon
Fixed in:0:20240813-296.amzn2
edk2-debuginfoAmazon
Fixed in:0:20240813-296.amzn2
Fixed in:0:20240813-296.amzn2
edk2-ovmfAmazon
Fixed in:0:20240813-296.amzn2
edk2-toolsAmazon
Fixed in:0:20240813-296.amzn2
Fixed in:0:20240813-296.amzn2
edk2-tools-docAmazon
Fixed in:0:20240813-296.amzn2
edk2Debian
Fixed in:2022.11-1CVE-2021-38578
Fixed in:2022.11-1CVE-2021-38578
Fixed in:2022.11-1CVE-2021-38578
edk2Red Hat / RHEL
Fixed in:0:20221207gitfff6d81270b5-9.el9_2RHSA-2023:2165
edk2Rocky
Fixed in:0:20221207gitfff6d81270b5-9.el9_2RHSA-2023:2165
edk2-aarch64Rocky
Fixed in:0:20221207gitfff6d81270b5-9.el9_2RHSA-2023:2165
edk2-aarch64Red Hat / RHEL
Fixed in:0:20221207gitfff6d81270b5-9.el9_2RHSA-2023:2165
edk2-debugsourceRed Hat / RHEL
Fixed in:0:20221207gitfff6d81270b5-9.el9_2RHSA-2023:2165
Fixed in:0:20221207gitfff6d81270b5-9.el9_2RHSA-2023:2165
edk2-debugsourceRocky
Fixed in:0:20221207gitfff6d81270b5-9.el9_2RHSA-2023:2165
Fixed in:0:20221207gitfff6d81270b5-9.el9_2RHSA-2023:2165
edk2-ovmfRed Hat / RHEL
Fixed in:0:20221207gitfff6d81270b5-9.el9_2RHSA-2023:2165
edk2-ovmfRocky
Fixed in:0:20221207gitfff6d81270b5-9.el9_2RHSA-2023:2165
edk2-toolsRed Hat / RHEL
Fixed in:0:20221207gitfff6d81270b5-9.el9_2RHSA-2023:2165
Fixed in:0:20221207gitfff6d81270b5-9.el9_2RHSA-2023:2165
edk2-toolsRocky
Fixed in:0:20221207gitfff6d81270b5-9.el9_2RHSA-2023:2165
Fixed in:0:20221207gitfff6d81270b5-9.el9_2RHSA-2023:2165
edk2-tools-debuginfoRocky
Fixed in:0:20221207gitfff6d81270b5-9.el9_2RHSA-2023:2165
Fixed in:0:20221207gitfff6d81270b5-9.el9_2RHSA-2023:2165
edk2-tools-debuginfoRed Hat / RHEL
Fixed in:0:20221207gitfff6d81270b5-9.el9_2RHSA-2023:2165
Fixed in:0:20221207gitfff6d81270b5-9.el9_2RHSA-2023:2165
edk2-tools-docRocky
Fixed in:0:20221207gitfff6d81270b5-9.el9_2RHSA-2023:2165
edk2-tools-docRed Hat / RHEL
Fixed in:0:20221207gitfff6d81270b5-9.el9_2RHSA-2023:2165
edk2Ubuntu
Fixed in:0~20160408.ffea0a2c-2ubuntu0.2+esm3USN-7060-1

This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2021-04-02.

Fixed in:0~20180205.c0d9813c-2ubuntu0.3+esm2USN-7060-1

This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2023-05-31. Extended security maintenance is available until 2028-04-01.

Fixed in:0~20191122.bd85bf54-2ubuntu3.6USN-7060-1

This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2025-05-31. Extended security maintenance is available until 2030-04-02.

Fixed in:2022.02-3ubuntu0.22.04.3USN-7060-1
ovmfUbuntu
Fixed in:0~20160408.ffea0a2c-2ubuntu0.2+esm3USN-7060-1

This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2021-04-02.

Fixed in:0~20180205.c0d9813c-2ubuntu0.3+esm2USN-7060-1

This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2023-05-31. Extended security maintenance is available until 2028-04-01.

Fixed in:0~20191122.bd85bf54-2ubuntu3.6USN-7060-1

This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2025-05-31. Extended security maintenance is available until 2030-04-02.

Fixed in:2022.02-3ubuntu0.22.04.3USN-7060-1
ovmf-ia32Ubuntu
Fixed in:2022.02-3ubuntu0.22.04.3USN-7060-1
qemu-efiUbuntu
Fixed in:0~20160408.ffea0a2c-2ubuntu0.2+esm3USN-7060-1

This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2021-04-02.

qemu-efi-aarch64Ubuntu
Fixed in:0~20180205.c0d9813c-2ubuntu0.3+esm2USN-7060-1

This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2023-05-31. Extended security maintenance is available until 2028-04-01.

Fixed in:0~20191122.bd85bf54-2ubuntu3.6USN-7060-1

This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2025-05-31. Extended security maintenance is available until 2030-04-02.

Fixed in:2022.02-3ubuntu0.22.04.3USN-7060-1
qemu-efi-armUbuntu
Fixed in:0~20180205.c0d9813c-2ubuntu0.3+esm2USN-7060-1

This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2023-05-31. Extended security maintenance is available until 2028-04-01.

Fixed in:0~20191122.bd85bf54-2ubuntu3.6USN-7060-1

This Ubuntu release reached end-of-life on 2025-05-31. Extended security maintenance is available until 2030-04-02.

Fixed in:2022.02-3ubuntu0.22.04.3USN-7060-1

TridentStack Control can deploy fixes like this automatically across your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet. See how it works

Remediation is compiled from vendor and distribution security advisories. Always confirm against the linked source for your exact version and platform.

CVSS v3 Vector

Exploitability

Attack VectorLocal
Attack ComplexityHigh
Privileges RequiredHigh
User InteractionNone
ScopeChanged

Impact

ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityLow

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

Exploit Intelligence

1.01%probability of exploitation in 30 days
61stpercentile

Moderate risk: more likely to be exploited than 61% of all known CVEs.

References

Vendor Advisory1
Third-Party Advisory1
Other references1

Related Vulnerabilities

Other CWE-124 vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all

CVESeverityCVSSEPSSExploitedFix
CVE-2015-2426High8.887%KEV-
CVE-2023-25610Critical9.818%-Fix
CVE-2018-5388Medium6.54.0%-Fix
CVE-2018-15361Critical9.82.9%-Fix
CVE-2021-36064High7.82.7%-Fix
CVE-2023-48230Medium5.91.9%-Fix

Common questions

How do I fix CVE-2021-38578?

Published advisories record a fix for 26 affected products. The "How to fix" section on this page lists the fixed version and source advisory for each one, so apply the entry matching what you actually run.

Is CVE-2021-38578 being actively exploited?

Not that we know of. CVE-2021-38578 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 1.0% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 61% of all scored CVEs.

How severe is CVE-2021-38578?

CVE-2021-38578 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.4, rated high. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.

What does CVE-2021-38578 affect?

Published advisories record a fix for edk2-aarch64 (Amazon), edk2-debuginfo (Amazon), edk2-ovmf (Amazon), edk2-tools (Amazon), and 22 more. Only products with a sourced advisory are listed, so treat this as what we can cite rather than a complete inventory.

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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-06-17.