CVE-2020-11838
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 · uneditedCross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Micro Focus ArcSight Management Center product, Affecting versions 2.6.1, 2.7.x, 2.8.x, 2.9.x prior to 2.9.4. The vulnerabilities could be remotely exploited resulting in Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) or information disclosure.
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 confidenceCross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Micro Focus ArcSight Management Center allows remote attackers to inject malicious JavaScript or HTML into web pages viewed by other users. This can lead to session hijacking, credential theft, or information disclosure via stolen session data.
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>= 2.7.0, < 2.9.4= 2.6.1CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
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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Locate the ArcSight Management Center installationIdentify the server or container running ArcSight Management Center. Common installation paths include /opt/arcsight/mc or C:\Program Files\ArcSight\Management Center. Check with your system administrator or container orchestration system if unsure.Affected if The software is not found or not installed, this CVE does not apply.
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Determine the installed versionAccess the product's web interface and navigate to Help > About, or check the version file in the installation directory (such as VERSION.txt, install.properties, or a version manifest). If command-line access is available, use the product's admin utility: arcsight mc -version or check the arcsight.properties file.Affected if Unable to determine version - further investigation required.
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Compare version against affected rangesThe affected versions are: 2.6.1 exactly, OR any version from 2.7.0 up to but not including 2.9.4. If your installed version is 2.6.1 OR falls between 2.7.0 and 2.9.3 inclusive, the environment is within the affected range.Affected if Version is 2.6.1 OR (>= 2.7.0 AND < 2.9.4) - the environment is affected by this CVE.
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Verify the web interface is enabledConfirm that the ArcSight Management Center web interface is accessible and enabled. This is typically on port 8080 or 8443. Check the product configuration for web server settings.Affected if Web interface is disabled and no users can access it, the XSS payload cannot be delivered.
If the installed ArcSight Management Center version is 2.6.1 or falls between 2.7.0 and 2.9.3, and the web interface is accessible to users, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2020-11838.
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 data2.9.4
Upgrade to version 2.9.4 or later. Apply input validation and output encoding on affected parameters as compensating controls until patching is feasible.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 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-2020-11838 — 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-2020-11838 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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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data