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Cloud Pak For AutomationApplication · Ibm

CVE-2020-4325

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-04-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 19.0.0.3 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable Zero-click

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 · unedited
The IBM Process Federation Server 18.0.0.1, 18.0.0.2, 19.0.0.1, 19.0.0.2, and 19.0.0.3 Global Teams REST API does not properly shutdown the thread pools that it creates to retrieve Global Teams information from the federated systems. As a consequence, the Java Virtual Machine can't recover the memory used by those thread pools, which leads to an OutOfMemory exception when the Process Federation Server Global Teams REST API is used extensively. IBM X-Force ID: 177596.

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 confidence

The Global Teams REST API in IBM Process Federation Server creates thread pools to retrieve information from federated systems but fails to properly shut down these thread pools when finished. This prevents the JVM from reclaiming the memory allocated to those thread pools, causing a memory leak that leads to OutOfMemory exceptions when the API is used extensively.

MitigationApply the appropriate IBM security patch or upgrade to a fixed version of IBM Process Federation Server. Until patched, monitor memory usage and limit extensive use of the Global Teams REST API to avoid triggering the OutOfMemory 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
Cloud Pak For AutomationApplication
Affected:= 19.0.3
Process Federation ServerApplication
Affected:>= 18.0.0.1, <= 19.0.0.3

CVSS 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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify IBM Process Federation Server installation
    Locate the IBM Process Federation Server installation directory or container image. Common paths include /opt/ibm/pfs or the container's application root. Check for the presence of the pfs or ibm-pfs directory and the pfs_server.jar or equivalent main executable.
    Affected if IBM Process Federation Server is installed and running.
  2. Verify the installed version
    Check the version of IBM Process Federation Server. Look in the product's about or version information panel, or check the manifest/version file in the installation directory. For Cloud Pak, check the operator or bundle version.
    Affected if The version is 18.0.0.1 through 19.0.0.3, or the Cloud Pak version is exactly 19.0.3.
  3. Confirm Global Teams REST API is in use
    Review application logs or monitor API access logs for calls to the Global Teams REST API endpoints. Typical endpoint patterns include /rest/tasks/teams or /api/v1/teams. Check if the feature is enabled in the federation configuration.
    Affected if The Global Teams REST API is actively being called by applications or users.
  4. Monitor for OutOfMemory errors
    Review JVM heap dumps, gc logs, or application logs for OutOfMemoryException errors. Check if these errors occur during or after periods of heavy Global Teams REST API usage. Look for patterns where memory does not recover after API calls complete.
    Affected if OutOfMemory errors appear in logs and correlate with Global Teams REST API usage patterns.
  5. Analyze JVM memory growth
    Monitor JVM memory usage over time using JConsole, VisualVM, or similar tools. Take baseline memory snapshots before and after Global Teams REST API calls. Observe if thread pool memory (particularly heap or native memory) continues to grow without being reclaimed after API operations complete.
    Affected if Memory usage grows continuously and is not reclaimed after Global Teams REST API operations finish.

You are affected if IBM Process Federation Server version 18.0.0.1-19.0.0.3 or Cloud Pak 19.0.3 is installed, the Global Teams REST API is being used, and OutOfMemory errors occur that correlate with that API usage.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 19.0.0.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the appropriate IBM security patch or upgrade to a fixed version of IBM Process Federation Server. Until patched, monitor memory usage and limit extensive use of the Global Teams REST API to avoid triggering the OutOfMemory condition.

Fix this in Cloud Pak For Automation Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
32.0 hours of engineering $5,600
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-4325 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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