CVE-2014-3020
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedinstall.sh in the Embedded WebSphere Application Server (eWAS) 7.0 before FP33 in IBM Tivoli Integrated Portal (TIP) 2.1 and 2.2 sets world-writable permissions for the installRoot directory tree, which allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse program.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe install.sh script in Embedded WebSphere Application Server (eWAS) 7.0 sets world-writable (777) permissions on the installRoot directory tree, allowing any local user on the system to modify or replace executables within that directory with malicious code to escalate privileges.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 7.0= 2.1= 2.2CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if affected product is installedCheck for IBM Embedded WebSphere Application Server (eWAS) 7.0 or IBM Tivoli Integrated Portal (TIP) 2.1/2.2 installation. On Linux/UNIX, common locations include /opt/IBM or /opt/IBM/TIP. Look for version.info or similar metadata files in the installation directory.Affected if The product is IBM eWAS 7.0 or IBM Tivoli Integrated Portal 2.1 or 2.2.
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Locate the installRoot directoryThe installRoot is the root directory where eWAS or TIP was installed. Check installation documentation or environment variables (such as WAS_HOME, TIP_HOME, or INSTALL_ROOT) that may reference this path. Common paths include /opt/IBM/WebSphere or /opt/IBM/TIP.Affected if The installRoot directory path is identified and the product version matches the affected versions.
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Check top-level permissions on installRootRun 'ls -ld <installRoot>' to view permissions on the root installation directory. Look for permission bits that include 'o+w' indicating world-writable status (e.g., drwxrwxrwx).Affected if The permissions show 'o+w' (world-writable) on the installRoot directory, making it mode 777.
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Check subdirectory permissions recursivelyRun 'find <installRoot> -type d -perm -002' to find all world-writable directories within the installation tree. Alternatively, run 'ls -laR <installRoot>' and inspect for 'drwxrwxrwx' entries.Affected if Any directory in the installRoot tree has world-writable permissions (mode 777 or similar with 'o+w' bit set).
A system is affected if IBM eWAS 7.0 or Tivoli Integrated Portal 2.1/2.2 is installed and the installRoot directory tree contains world-writable permissions (777), allowing any local user to modify executables.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply eWAS 7.0 FP33 or later which addresses this issue. Alternatively, manually restrict permissions on the installRoot directory tree to remove world-writable bits (e.g., chmod 755 or more restrictive).
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-3020 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2014-3020 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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