CVE-2020-4146
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 · uneditedIBM Security SiteProtector System 3.1.1 could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information, caused by missing 'HttpOnly' flag. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to obtain sensitive information. IBM X-Force ID: 174129.
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 confidenceIBM Security SiteProtector System 3.1.1 sets cookies without the HttpOnly flag, allowing client-side JavaScript to access them. This enables an attacker who achieves an XSS condition to steal session cookies and impersonate users.
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= 3.1.1.0CVSS 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
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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.
-
Identify installed IBM Security SiteProtector System versionLocate the application installation directory or check the product's 'About' or 'Version' information panel within the IBM Security SiteProtector System console. Alternatively, check the software inventory or installed programs list on the server.Affected if The installed version is 3.1.1.0 exactly, as this is the only affected version listed.
-
Inspect session cookies for HttpOnly attributeLog into the IBM Security SiteProtector System web interface, open browser developer tools (F12), go to the Application or Storage tab, expand Cookies, and select the site domain. Examine each cookie listed for the HttpOnly column/value.Affected if Any session-related cookie (such as JSESSIONID, PHPSESSID, or similar) does not have the HttpOnly flag set, meaning it is accessible to JavaScript.
-
Verify cookie transmission settingsIn the same browser developer tools, check the Set-Cookie headers in the Network tab during login or after authenticating. Look for the Set-Cookie response headers from the IBM Security SiteProtector System server.Affected if The Set-Cookie header does not include the HttpOnly directive, indicating the cookie can be read by client-side scripts.
-
Confirm cookie is used for authenticationReview the cookie name and behavior. If the cookie appears to maintain a user session (e.g., contains session ID, user identifier, or authentication token), this indicates it is a session cookie vulnerable to theft via XSS.Affected if The cookie without HttpOnly flag is used to maintain authenticated sessions, making it exploitable if an XSS vulnerability exists.
A user is affected if they are running IBM Security SiteProtector System version 3.1.1.0 and any session cookies are set without the HttpOnly attribute, allowing potential session hijacking via XSS.
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 dataConfigure the application server to set the HttpOnly attribute on all session cookies, preventing JavaScript access to credentials.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-4146 — 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-2020-4146 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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