CVE-2020-4305
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 InfoSphere Information Server 11.3, 11.5, and 11.7 could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the system, caused by the deserialization of untrusted data. By persuading a victim to visit a specially crafted Web site, an attacker could exploit this vulnerability to execute arbitrary code on the system. IBM X-Force ID: 176677.
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 InfoSphere Information Server versions 11.3, 11.5, and 11.7 contain a deserialization vulnerability where untrusted data is deserialized without proper validation, allowing remote attackers to achieve arbitrary code execution by tricking authenticated users into visiting malicious websites.
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>= 11.7.0.0, <= 11.7.1.1= 11.3.0= 11.5.0>= 11.7.0.0, <= 11.7.1.1= 11.5.0.0CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 IBM InfoSphere Information Server versionLocate the product installation directory and check the version file, or run the version command specific to the product installation (commonly found in the installation bin directory or via product-specific version utility)Affected if The installed version is 11.3.0, 11.5.0, or any version >= 11.7.0.0 through 11.7.1.1 (including 11.7.0.0, 11.7.0.1, 11.7.1.0, 11.7.1.1)
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Confirm deployment type (On-Premise or On Cloud)Verify whether the affected installation is IBM InfoSphere Information Server On-Premise or IBM InfoSphere Information Server On Cloud, as version ranges differ slightly between the two deployment typesAffected if Running On-Premise version 11.3.0, 11.5.0, or >= 11.7.0.0 through 11.7.1.1; or On Cloud version 11.5.0.0 or >= 11.7.0.0 through 11.7.1.1
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Assess web interface exposureDetermine whether the IBM InfoSphere web-based interface (the attack vector requiring authenticated users to visit malicious websites) is accessible from network locations outside the trusted internal networkAffected if The web interface is externally accessible and authentication mechanisms are in place for user sessions (since the flaw requires tricking authenticated users)
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Review authentication configurationInspect user authentication and session management settings in the IBM InfoSphere administration console or configuration files to confirm user sessions are active and potentially vulnerable to cross-site request manipulationAffected if User authentication is enabled and web-based sessions are active (the vulnerability requires authenticated users as part of the attack chain)
Your environment is affected if you are running IBM InfoSphere Information Server versions 11.3.0, 11.5.0, or any version from 11.7.0.0 through 11.7.1.1, particularly if the web interface is accessible to users who could be targeted for social engineering attacks.
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 dataApply IBM's security patch for CVE-2020-4305 (contact IBM support for fix bundle) or upgrade to a supported version (11.7+ with latest cumulative patches). Network segmentation and restricting user access to untrusted websites reduces attack surface.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-4305 — 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-2020-4305 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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