# CVE-2021-38598: OpenStack Neutron vulnerable to hardware address impersonation

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2021-38598-openstack-neutron-vulnerable-to-hardware-address-impersonation  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2021-08-23  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2021-38598 · Severity: low · CVSS 3.1 · Published 2021-08-23

OpenStack Neutron before 16.4.1, 17.x before 17.1.3, and 18.0.0 allows hardware address impersonation when the linuxbridge driver with ebtables-nft is used on a Netfilter-based platform. By sending carefully crafted packets, anyone in control of a server instance connected to the virtual switch can impersonate the hardware addresses of other systems on the network, resulting in denial of service or in some cases possibly interception of traffic intended for other destinations.

Technologies: [neutron (PyPI)](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/pypi-neutron). Vendors: [PyPI](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/pypi).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2021-38598 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2021-38598 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2021-38598?** Low severity, with a CVSS score of 3.1, published 23 August 2021.

**Which products and versions are affected?** neutron (PyPI) ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=16.4.1, ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=16.4.1,introduced=17.0.0,fixed=17.1.3,introduced=18.0.0,fixed=18.1.0.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2021-38598?** Yes. neutron (PyPI): upgrade to 16.4.1, 18.1.0 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**Am I affected by CVE-2021-38598?** Check whether you run neutron (PyPI) at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## How to fix

- neutron (PyPI): upgrade to 16.4.1, 18.1.0 or later

  ```sh
  pip install "neutron>=18.1.0"
  ```


## Affected products

- neutron (PyPI) ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=16.4.1, ECOSYSTEM:introduced=0,fixed=16.4.1,introduced=17.0.0,fixed=17.1.3,introduced=18.0.0,fixed=18.1.0

## Identifiers

- CVE-2021-38598
- GHSA-hvm4-mc7m-22w4
- PYSEC-2021-360

## Related threats

- [PYSEC-2026-1693 - OpenStack Neutron can use an incorrect ID during policy enforcement](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2024-53916-openstack-neutron-can-use-an-incorrect-id-during-policy)
- [PYSEC-2026-1694 - Denial of service in neutron](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2023-3637-denial-of-service-in-neutron)
- [PYSEC-2026-855 - openstack-neutron uncontrolled resource consumption flaw](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2022-3277-openstack-neutron-uncontrolled-resource-consumption-flaw)
- [PYSEC-2026-851 - OpenStack Neutron Improper Authentication vulnerability](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2014-0056-openstack-neutron-improper-authentication-vulnerability)
- [PYSEC-2026-853 - OpenStack Neutron Race condition vulnerability](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2015-5240-openstack-neutron-race-condition-vulnerability)