{"id":"CVE-2021-38648","kind":"vulnerability","aliases":["CVE-2021-38648"],"related":[],"title":"Microsoft Open Management Infrastructure (OMI): Microsoft Open Management Infrastructure (OMI) Privilege Escalation Vulnerability","description":"Microsoft Open Management Infrastructure (OMI) within Azure VM Management Extensions contains an unspecified vulnerability allowing privilege escalation.\n\nCISA required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.","summary":"Microsoft Open Management Infrastructure (OMI), a management agent used in Azure VM Management Extensions, contains a privilege escalation flaw. An attacker with local access can gain higher privileges on the affected machine.","severity":"high","cvss":7.8,"epss":0.11424,"exploited":true,"exploited_at":"2021-11-03T00:00:00+00:00","products":[{"name":"Microsoft Open Management Infrastructure (OMI)","fixed":[],"affected":"","ecosystem":"vendor"}],"ecosystems":["vendor"],"tags":["azure","azure-vm-extensions","exploited","infrastructure","linux","omi"],"not_affected_if":["no-omi-installed"],"how_to_check":null,"fix":"Apply updates per vendor instructions (CISA KEV required action). Specific fixed version: unknown","status":"open","published_at":"2021-09-15T12:15:15+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:11:53+00:00","triaged_at":"2026-10-23T21:41:22+00:00","updated_at":"2026-10-23T21:57:34+00:00","category":"infrastructure","confidence":0.6,"triage":{"at":"2026-10-23T21:41:22Z","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","output":{"fix":"Apply updates per vendor instructions (CISA KEV required action). Specific fixed version: unknown","reach":"local","impact":"high","summary":"Microsoft Open Management Infrastructure (OMI), a management agent used in Azure VM Management Extensions, contains a privilege escalation flaw. An attacker with local access can gain higher privileges on the affected machine.","category":"infrastructure","who_cares":["azure","linux","omi","azure-vm-extensions"],"confidence":0.6,"needs_auth":"yes","worst_case":"local user escalates privileges to root or SYSTEM on the host","analyst_note":"Find the vendor advisory and fixed OMI version, and a check command, via the Microsoft Security Response Center entry for CVE-2021-38648.","how_to_check":"unknown","needs_analyst":true,"not_affected_if":["no-omi-installed"],"user_interaction":"no","needs_special_setup":"unknown","severity_if_unknown":"unknown"},"cost_usd":0.00046,"input_tokens":2867,"output_tokens":346,"severity_before":"unknown"},"analyst_status":"queued","analyst_note":"Find the vendor advisory and fixed OMI version, and a check command, via the Microsoft Security Response Center entry for CVE-2021-38648.","search":"'-2021':15A,18A '-38648':16A,19A 'access':57B 'action':85C 'affect':64B 'agent':41B 'allow':80C 'appli':86C 'attack':54B 'azur':25B,27B,44B,72C 'azure-vm-extens':26B 'cisa':83C 'contain':48B,76C 'cve':14A,17A 'escal':12A,51B,82C 'exploit':30B 'extens':29B,47B,75C 'flaw':52B 'gain':59B 'higher':60B 'infrastructur':4A,9A,31B,37B,69C 'infrastructure':23A 'instruct':90C 'linux':32B 'local':56B 'machin':65B 'manag':3A,8A,36B,40B,46B,68C,74C 'management':22A 'microsoft':1A,6A,20A,34B,66C 'omi':5A,10A,24A,33B,38B,70C 'open':2A,7A,21A,35B,67C 'per':88C 'privileg':11A,50B,61B,81C 'requir':84C 'unspecifi':78C 'updat':87C 'use':42B 'vendor':89C 'vm':28B,45B,73C 'vulner':13A,79C 'within':71C","nicknames":[],"mitigations":[],"who_affected":null,"tier":null,"verified":{},"analyst_revisit_at":null,"first_public_at":"2021-09-15T12:15:15+00:00","kev":{"dateAdded":"2021-11-03","dueDate":"2021-11-17","requiredAction":"Apply updates per vendor instructions.","knownRansomwareCampaignUse":"Unknown"},"cvss_vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","cvss_by":"secure@microsoft.com","poc_count":0,"sources":[{"source":"kev","external_id":"CVE-2021-38648","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?search_api_fulltext=CVE-2021-38648","severity":null,"published_at":"2021-11-03T00:00:00+00:00","modified_at":null,"first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:11:53+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-25T14:39:41+00:00","note":null},{"source":"epss","external_id":"CVE-2021-38648","url":"https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2021-38648","severity":null,"published_at":null,"modified_at":null,"first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:13:43+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T19:13:43+00:00","note":null},{"source":"nvd","external_id":"CVE-2021-38648","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-38648","severity":null,"published_at":"2021-09-15T12:15:15+00:00","modified_at":"2026-08-10T20:15:31+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T21:57:34+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T21:57:34+00:00","note":null}],"documents":[],"notice":"Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai"}