CVE-2020-4188
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 Guardium 10.6 and 11.1 may use insufficiently random numbers or values in a security context that depends on unpredictable numbers. IBM X-Force ID: 174807.
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 confidenceIBM Security Guardium versions 10.6 and 11.1 use insufficiently random numbers or values in a security context that depends on unpredictable numbers. This vulnerability stems from the use of a weak or predictable PRNG (Pseudo-Random Number Generator) in security-sensitive operations where cryptographic randomness is required, potentially allowing attackers to predict or guess values used in authentication, session handling, or cryptographic operations.
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= 10.6= 11.1CVSS 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
- 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.
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Identify the installed IBM Security Guardium versionAccess the Guardium CLI or web interface and run the command to display the version, typically via 'guardiumctl version' or by checking the About section in the web UIAffected if The installed version is 10.6 or 11.1 exactly
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Confirm the exact version numberCompare the full version string (including any build or patch numbers) against the affected versions 10.6 and 11.1Affected if The version displays as 10.6.x or 11.1.x where x represents any patch level within these major.minor releases
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Check if cryptographic operations are in useReview Guardium configuration for active security features such as SSL/TLS, session management, API authentication, or encryption of data at restAffected if Any cryptographic or authentication features are enabled, as these rely on the PRNG affected by this CVE
The environment is affected if the installed IBM Security Guardium version is exactly 10.6 or 11.1 and any security-sensitive features using randomization are active.
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 product to use cryptographically secure random number generators (CSPRNG) for all security-relevant operations. Consult IBM Security Guardium documentation and patches for proper randomization implementation.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-4188 — 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-2020-4188 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
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