How severe is CVE-2021-38648?

CVE-2021-38648 has a CVSS score of 7.8/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2021-38648?

Affected package information for CVE-2021-38648 is not yet fully mapped. Check the official advisory links for details.

How do I fix CVE-2021-38648?

No fixed version has been published for CVE-2021-38648 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates, apply mitigations recommended by the vendor, and use O3 Security to track when a fix becomes available in your stack.

Is CVE-2021-38648 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 3 known exploit references for CVE-2021-38648, including 3 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2021-38648?

CVE-2021-38648 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 38.2%, placing it in the 97th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score warrants monitoring and prompt remediation.

Is CVE-2021-38648 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2021-38648 (Microsoft Open Management Infrastructure (OMI) Privilege Escalation Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2021-11-03. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2021-11-17. The required action was: Apply updates per vendor instructions. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2021-38648?

CVE-2021-38648 affects microsoft azure automation state configuration; microsoft azure automation update management; microsoft azure diagnostics \(lad\); microsoft azure open management infrastructure, and 6 more product(s). Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

When was CVE-2021-38648 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2021-38648 was published on September 15, 2021 and was last updated on October 30, 2025. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CISA KEV·Added 2021-11-03 — agencies required to remediate by 2021-11-17

CVE-2021-38648

HIGH

Open Management Infrastructure Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Published

Sep 15, 2021

Updated

Oct 30, 2025

Affected

0 pkgs

Patched

None yet

Exploits

3 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

38.2%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Moderate Risk97th percentile0.00%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Description

Open Management Infrastructure Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Affected Products

10 products · 10 configurations

Application

azure automation state configurationmicrosoft

all

Application

azure automation update managementmicrosoft

all

Application

azure diagnostics \(lad\)microsoft

all

Application

azure open management infrastructuremicrosoft

all

Application

azure security centermicrosoft

all

Application

azure sentinelmicrosoft

all

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

Open Management Infrastructure Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

cisa.govCISANov 2021

Open Management Infrastructure Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

github.comMetasploitNov 2021

Open Management Infrastructure Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

packetstormsecurity.comNVDNov 2021

Frequently Asked Questions

Open Management Infrastructure Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2021-38648 in your stack?

O3 detects CVE-2021-38648 across dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

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