How to Fix CVE-2021-38649: Open Management Infrastructure Elevation of Privilege

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Other vulnerabilities in the same area that are worth patching alongside this one:

• How to Fix CVE-2021-31196: Remote Code Execution in Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 Cumulative Update 9 — Remote Code Execution in Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 Cumulative Update 9
• How to Fix CVE-2021-38645: Open Management Infrastructure Elevation of Privilege — Open Management Infrastructure Elevation of Privilege
• How to Fix CVE-2021-31955: Windows Kernel Information Disclosure in Windows 10 Version 1809 , Windows Kernel Information Disclosure in Windows 10 Version 1809
• How to Fix CVE-2021-41357: Elevation of Privilege in Microsoft Win32k , Elevation of Privilege in Microsoft Win32k
• How to Fix CVE-2021-27065: Microsoft Exchange Server Remote Code Execution , Microsoft Exchange Server Remote Code Execution

*By Sai Kiran Pandrala*

⚠️ Patch immediately. CVE-2021-38649 is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03). Federal agencies had until 2021-11-17 to remediate.

What is CVE-2021-38649?

Open Management Infrastructure Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

In practical terms, a successful attacker gets elevation of privilege to administrator or root on the affected host. CISA has confirmed exploitation in the wild, so this is not a theoretical risk.

Am I affected?

You're affected if you run Microsoft Open Management Infrastructure at any version in the Affected row above. Use these probes to find your installed build:

[System.Environment]::OSVersion.Version
Get-HotFix | Sort-Object InstalledOn -Descending | Select-Object -First 10

How to fix CVE-2021-38649

The primary fix is to upgrade to the patched build listed in the Fixed in row above (3.1.135). Pick the platform that matches your install and run the commands below.

Linux (Ubuntu / Debian)

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade open-management-infrastructure
# Confirm the installed version meets or exceeds 3.1.135
dpkg -s open-management-infrastructure | grep ^Version

Linux (RHEL / CentOS / Rocky)

sudo dnf upgrade --security open-management-infrastructure -y
rpm -q open-management-infrastructure

Windows (PowerShell, admin)

# Try winget first
winget upgrade --id 'Microsoft.Open Management Infrastructure' --silent --accept-source-agreements --accept-package-agreements
# If winget does not know the product, download the patched installer from the vendor and:
Start-Process -FilePath "$env:TEMP\OpenManagementInfrastructure-3.1.135.msi" -ArgumentList '/qn /norestart' -Wait

PowerShell script (Windows) - detect, back up, upgrade, verify, log

# Run as Administrator
$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$log = "$env:ProgramData\OpenManagementInfrastructure-Patch-CVE-2021-38649.log"
function Write-Log($msg) { "$(Get-Date -Format s)  $msg" | Tee-Object -FilePath $log -Append }

Write-Log "Starting CVE-2021-38649 remediation for Microsoft Open Management Infrastructure"

# 1. Detect: replace the path/version probe with one valid for your install
$installed = (Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product |
    Where-Object { $_.Name -like '*Open*' } |
    Select-Object -First 1 -ExpandProperty Version)
Write-Log "Detected version: $installed"

if (-not $installed) {
    Write-Log "Product not installed on this host; nothing to do."
    return
}
if ([version]$installed -ge [version]'3.1.135') {
    Write-Log "Already at fixed version $installed; no action needed."
    return
}

# 2. Backup configuration to a timestamped folder
$backup = "$env:ProgramData\OpenManagementInfrastructure-Backup-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd-HHmm)"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $backup -Force | Out-Null
# Adjust the source path to match your install
$src = "$env:ProgramFiles\Microsoft\Open Management Infrastructure"
if (Test-Path $src) { Copy-Item -Path $src -Destination $backup -Recurse -Force }
Write-Log "Backed up config to $backup"

# 3. Apply the patched installer (place the verified file on a share or staging path)
$installer = "$env:TEMP\OpenManagementInfrastructure-3.1.135.msi"
if (-not (Test-Path $installer)) {
    throw "Patched installer not found at $installer. Stage it from your software repo first."
}
Start-Process msiexec.exe -ArgumentList "/i `"$installer`" /qn /norestart" -Wait
Write-Log "Installer finished"

# 4. Verify
$verify = (Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product |
    Where-Object { $_.Name -like '*Open*' } |
    Select-Object -First 1 -ExpandProperty Version)
if ([version]$verify -ge [version]'3.1.135') {
    Write-Log "SUCCESS: now at $verify (>= 3.1.135)"
} else {
    Write-Log "FAILURE: still at $verify after install"
    exit 1
}

Bash script (Linux) - detect, back up, upgrade, verify, log

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail
LOG=/var/log/open-management-infrastructure-patch-cve-2021-38649.log
log()  { echo "$(date -Iseconds)  $*" | tee -a "$LOG"; }

log "Starting CVE-2021-38649 remediation for Microsoft Open Management Infrastructure"

# 1. Detect installed version (works for deb and rpm packages)
if command -v dpkg >/dev/null && dpkg -s open-management-infrastructure >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    CURRENT=$(dpkg-query -W -f='${Version}' open-management-infrastructure)
    PKG_MGR=apt
elif command -v rpm >/dev/null && rpm -q open-management-infrastructure >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    CURRENT=$(rpm -q --queryformat '%{VERSION}' open-management-infrastructure)
    PKG_MGR=dnf
else
    log "open-management-infrastructure not installed via apt or rpm; check your package manager or vendor instructions."
    exit 0
fi
log "Detected: open-management-infrastructure=$CURRENT (manager=$PKG_MGR)"

# 2. Backup config
BACKUP=/var/backups/open-management-infrastructure-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M)
mkdir -p "$BACKUP"
for d in /etc/open-management-infrastructure /etc/${pkg%%-*} ; do
    [ -d "$d" ] && cp -a "$d" "$BACKUP/" && log "Backed up $d to $BACKUP"
done

# 3. Upgrade
if [ "$PKG_MGR" = apt ]; then
    sudo apt-get update -y
    sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade -y open-management-infrastructure
else
    sudo dnf upgrade --security -y open-management-infrastructure
fi

# 4. Verify
if [ "$PKG_MGR" = apt ]; then
    NEW=$(dpkg-query -W -f='${Version}' open-management-infrastructure)
else
    NEW=$(rpm -q --queryformat '%{VERSION}' open-management-infrastructure)
fi
log "After upgrade: $NEW"

# Optionally compare against 3.1.135 with dpkg --compare-versions or sort -V
log "Done. Restart the affected service if the package install did not."

If you can't patch immediately

These are runnable hardening commands. They reduce blast radius but they're not a replacement for the vendor patch.

No official vendor workaround is published for this CVE; patching is the only documented fix. The runnable hardening below is generic defense in depth, not a substitute for the patch.

Restrict the affected service to trusted networks (Linux):

# Vendor advisory: https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2021-38649
# Replace <port> with the affected service port and 10.0.0.0/24 with your admin subnet
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport <port> -s 10.0.0.0/24 -j ACCEPT
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport <port> -j DROP

Windows Firewall equivalent:

# Vendor advisory: https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2021-38649
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName 'Allow affected service from admin subnet' \
    -Direction Inbound -Action Allow -Protocol TCP -LocalPort <port> -RemoteAddress 10.0.0.0/24
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName 'Block affected service from everywhere else' \
    -Direction Inbound -Action Block -Protocol TCP -LocalPort <port>

How to verify the fix worked

Run the version probe again and confirm the running build matches the Fixed in row above.

Get-HotFix | Sort-Object InstalledOn -Descending | Select-Object -First 5

Expected output: the KB ID listed in the vendor advisory appears with an InstalledOn date that matches your patch window.

Then re-run any vulnerability scanner you used previously and confirm the finding for CVE-2021-38649 has cleared. Sweep your logs for the indicators of compromise listed in the vendor or CISA advisory, especially if the system was internet-reachable during the disclosure window.

Frequently asked questions

Is CVE-2021-38649 being actively exploited?

Yes. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means in-the-wild exploitation has been observed and confirmed.

How severe is CVE-2021-38649?

CVSS rates it 7 (High). Use that score to set your patch priority next to the other items in your queue.

Do I have to take Open Management Infrastructure offline to apply the patch?

It depends on the deployment. High-availability or clustered installs can usually patch one node at a time with no full outage. Standalone installs typically need a short restart. Always follow the vendor's documented upgrade steps.

What if my vulnerability scanner still flags CVE-2021-38649 after I patch?

Re-run the scan after a service restart, then confirm the scanner's plugin set is up to date. Some scanners detect by banner version only and lag the official fix metadata by a release.

References

• Official vendor advisory: https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2021-38649
• NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-38649
• CISA KEV catalog: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog

*Written by Sai Kiran Pandrala on 2026-05-25. Sourced from the official vendor advisory, the NVD record, and the CISA KEV listing. Always confirm against the vendor advisory before applying changes in production.*