Elastic Storage ServerApplication · Ibm

CVE-2020-4383

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-08-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 5.3.5 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
IBM Spectrum Scale for IBM Elastic Storage Server 5.3.0 through 5.3.5 could allow an authenticated user to cause a denial of service during deployment while configuring some of the network services. IBM X-Force ID: 179165.

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

IBM Spectrum Scale for IBM Elastic Storage Server versions 5.3.0 through 5.3.5 contains a denial of service vulnerability that can be triggered by an authenticated user during the deployment phase when configuring certain network services, potentially causing service disruption.

MitigationUpgrade IBM Spectrum Scale/ESS to a version beyond 5.3.5 or apply the appropriate IBM fix/patch. During deployment, restrict administrative access to trusted authenticated users only.

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
Elastic Storage ServerApplication
Affected:>= 5.3.0, <= 5.3.5

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 the installed IBM Spectrum Scale/ESS version
    Run the command to display the IBM Spectrum Scale version, typically 'mmgetversion' or check the product documentation for your installation method
    Affected if The version displayed is 5.3.0, 5.3.1, 5.3.2, 5.3.3, 5.3.4, or 5.3.5
  2. Confirm the exact version number
    Cross-reference the version output against the precise version string reported by the system, noting any sub-version or patch level indicators
    Affected if The version string starts with 5.3.0 through 5.3.5 inclusive
  3. Determine if the system is in or approaching a deployment phase
    Check whether initial deployment, re-deployment, or significant configuration changes involving network services are imminent or in progress
    Affected if Deployment or network services configuration is being performed or planned
  4. Assess network services configuration activity
    Review any active or pending configuration of network services performed by authenticated users during the deployment process
    Affected if An authenticated user is actively configuring network services during deployment
  5. Verify authentication context for configuration operations
    Identify which authenticated users have access to network service configuration during deployment
    Affected if Any authenticated user (including potentially untrusted ones) has access to configure network services during deployment

Your environment is affected if the installed IBM Spectrum Scale/ESS version is between 5.3.0 and 5.3.5 inclusive AND network services configuration by authenticated users during deployment is possible or imminent.

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 5.3.5
Interim mitigation

Upgrade IBM Spectrum Scale/ESS to a version beyond 5.3.5 or apply the appropriate IBM fix/patch. During deployment, restrict administrative access to trusted authenticated users only.

Fix this in Elastic Storage Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,480
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,968.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-4383 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-4383 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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