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Infosphere Information Server On CloudApplication · Ibm

CVE-2020-4384

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-05-06
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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 InfoSphere Information Server 11.3, 11.5, and 11.7 is vulnerable to cross-site scripting. This vulnerability allows users to embed arbitrary JavaScript code in the Web UI thus altering the intended functionality potentially leading to credentials disclosure within a trusted session. IBM X-Force ID: 179265.

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 InfoSphere Information Server versions 11.3, 11.5, and 11.7 contains a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Web UI. Attackers can embed arbitrary JavaScript code that executes in the context of trusted sessions, potentially leading to credential disclosure or session hijacking.

MitigationApply IBM security patches for CVE-2020-4384. Additionally, implement output encoding and input validation for all user-supplied data in the Web UI, and configure Content Security Policy headers to mitigate XSS risks.

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
Infosphere Information Server On CloudApplication
Affected:= 11.5= 11.7
Infosphere QualitystageApplication
Affected:= 11.3= 11.5= 11.7

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
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

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

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

  1. Identify the installed IBM InfoSphere Information Server version
    Check the product version through the IBM InfoSphere installation directory, license key files, or by querying the IBM IGS robotools database. Typical version locations include the 'registry.xml' or 'version.info' files in the installation root directory, or use the 'imcl listInstalledPackages' command if IBM Installation Manager is available.
    Affected if The installed version is 11.3, 11.5, or 11.7 of IBM InfoSphere Information Server, or 11.5 or 11.7 for the On Cloud variant, or 11.3, 11.5, or 11.7 for IBM InfoSphere Qualitystage.
  2. Confirm the Web UI component is enabled and accessible
    Verify that the IBM InfoSphere Information Server Web UI (typically accessed via /ibm/iis/console or similar endpoint) is currently running and accessible to users. Check the WebSphere or Apache HTTP Server configuration to confirm the Web UI application is deployed and started.
    Affected if The Web UI component is enabled and accessible, as the XSS vulnerability exists specifically within this interface.
  3. Review Web UI input fields for suspicious stored content
    Inspect user-created or user-editable fields within the Web UI such as job names, project descriptions, metadata repository entries, or data quality rule definitions. Look for encoded or obfuscated JavaScript tags, script element payloads, or event handler attributes (onload, onerror, onmouseover) embedded in these fields.
    Affected if Arbitrary JavaScript code or HTML tags are found stored in Web UI fields where such content would not be expected or properly encoded.
  4. Check Web UI audit logs for XSS injection attempts
    Review IBM InfoSphere Information Server Web UI logs and WebSphere Application Server logs for patterns indicative of XSS injection attempts, including repeated occurrences of '<script', 'javascript:', 'onerror=', 'onload=', or other XSS vectors in request parameters.
    Affected if Logs contain evidence of XSS payloads being submitted to the Web UI, indicating potential exploitation attempts.

You are affected if your IBM InfoSphere Information Server version is 11.3, 11.5, or 11.7 AND the Web UI component is enabled and accessible, as the stored XSS vulnerability exists in this specific interface.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply IBM security patches for CVE-2020-4384. Additionally, implement output encoding and input validation for all user-supplied data in the Web UI, and configure Content Security Policy headers to mitigate XSS risks.

Fix this in Infosphere Information Server On Cloud Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,880
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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-2020-4384 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
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