CVE-2020-11849
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 · uneditedElevation of privilege and/or unauthorized access vulnerability in Micro Focus Identity Manager. Affecting versions prior to 4.7.3 and 4.8.1 hot fix 1. The vulnerability could allow information exposure that can result in an elevation of privilege or an unauthorized access.
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 · moderate confidenceMicro Focus Identity Manager contains an elevation of privilege and/or unauthorized access vulnerability that allows information exposure. The flaw affects versions prior to 4.7.3 and 4.8.1 hot fix 1, potentially allowing attackers to gain elevated privileges or access resources beyond their authorized scope.
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< 4.7.3= 4.7.4= 4.8.1CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 installed Micro Focus Identity Manager versionLocate the product version through the admin console, installation directory, or version check utility provided by Micro Focus. Common locations include the product's About section in the administrative web interface or a version file within the installation directory.Affected if The installed version is < 4.7.3, equals 4.7.4, or equals 4.8.1 without hot fix 1 applied.
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Confirm the specific minor and patch versionDetermine the exact version number including any hot fixes or service packs applied. Check the product's patch level or build number in the administrative interface or release notes.Affected if The version is 4.7.4 or 4.8.1 without the specific hot fix 1 applied, as these versions contain the vulnerability even though they are near the fixed releases.
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Verify administrative or elevated access configurationReview user role assignments and privilege configurations within Identity Manager to determine if standard or limited users could potentially access elevated functions. Check the authorization or role-based access control settings.Affected if Users with limited privileges exist in the system and could potentially exploit the privilege escalation vector to gain unauthorized access to resources.
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Check for exposure to untrusted networksDetermine if the Identity Manager web interface or administrative ports are accessible from untrusted networks or the internet. Review firewall rules and network segmentation around the Identity Manager server.Affected if The administrative interface is exposed to untrusted networks, allowing potential attackers to reach the vulnerability.
A system is affected if it runs Micro Focus Identity Manager version 4.7.4 or 4.8.1 without hot fix 1, or any version prior to 4.7.3, and the administrative interface is network-accessible to potential attackers.
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.
dbcve · scoped4.7.3
Upgrade Micro Focus Identity Manager to version 4.7.3 or later, or apply hot fix 1 for version 4.8.1. Since this is a critical identity management system, plan the upgrade during a maintenance window with full backup and rollback capability.
Identity Manager 4.7.3 or later (4.7.x line); or Identity Manager 4.8.1 with Hot Fix 1 applied, or 4.8.2+
- 1. Identify the current Identity Manager version by checking the product administration console or using the version detection tool
- 2. For versions prior to 4.7.3: Plan and schedule an upgrade to version 4.7.3 or later
- 3. For version 4.7.4: Upgrade to version 4.7.5 or the latest 4.7.x stable release
- 4. For version 4.8.1: Apply Hot Fix 1, or upgrade to version 4.8.2 or later if available
- 5. Before upgrading, perform a full backup of the Identity Manager database and configuration
- 6. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment first
- 7. Apply the upgrade or hot fix during a planned maintenance window
- 8. Verify the installation completed successfully and test critical identity management functions
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-11849 — 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-2020-11849 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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- 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
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