CVE-2020-4207
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 Watson IoT Message Gateway 2.0.0.x, 5.0.0.0, 5.0.0.1, and 5.0.0.2 is vulnerable to a buffer overflow, caused by improper bounds checking when handling a failed HTTP request with specific content in the headers. By sending a specially crafted HTTP request, a remote attacker could overflow a buffer and execute arbitrary code on the system or cause a denial of service. IBM X-Force ID: 174972.
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 Watson IoT Message Gateway versions 2.0.0.x, 5.0.0.0, 5.0.0.1, and 5.0.0.2 contains a buffer overflow vulnerability caused by improper bounds checking when processing failed HTTP requests with specific content in the headers. A remote unauthenticated attacker can send a specially crafted HTTP request to overflow a buffer, potentially executing arbitrary code or causing a denial of service condition.
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>= 2.0.0.0, < 2.0.0.2= 5.0.0.0= 5.0.0.1CVSS 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 the installed IBM IoT Messagesight or Watson IoT Message Gateway versionRun the command to display the product version, typically found in the product's About section, version file, or by querying the installed packages. Common locations include /opt/ibm/<product>/version.txt or the product's administrative console.Affected if The installed version is 2.0.0.0, 2.0.0.1, or 5.0.0.0 for IBM IoT Messagesight, or 5.0.0.1 for IBM Watson IoT Platform Message Gateway
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Confirm the HTTP Gateway component is enabledCheck the IBM IoT Message Gateway configuration for HTTP listener settings. This is typically found in the gateway configuration files or administrative UI under Messaging > HTTP > Settings. Verify that HTTP transport is activated.Affected if The HTTP Gateway listener is enabled and accepting HTTP connections on any exposed interface
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Verify network exposure of the HTTP Gateway serviceReview network listening services and firewall rules to determine if the HTTP Gateway port (default 9089 for non-TLS, 9443 for TLS) is reachable from external or untrusted networks. Use netstat or ss to list open ports.Affected if The HTTP Gateway service is listening on a publicly accessible IP address or VPN-external network interface
You are affected if you have IBM IoT Messagesight versions 2.0.0.0 through 2.0.0.1 or version 5.0.0.0, or Watson IoT Platform Message Gateway version 5.0.0.1, with the HTTP Gateway component enabled and network-accessible.
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 data2.0.0.2
Apply the vendor-supplied patch or upgrade to a fixed version of IBM Watson IoT Message Gateway. If immediate patching is not possible, implement input validation and rate limiting at network perimeter devices to filter malicious HTTP requests.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation24.0 h
- Testing16.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-4207 — 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-2020-4207 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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