CVE-2020-4587
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 Sterling Connect:Direct for UNIX 4.2.0, 4.3.0, 6.0.0, and 6.1.0 is vulnerable to a stack based buffer ovreflow, caused by improper bounds checking. A local attacker could manipulate CD UNIX to obtain root provileges. IBM X-Force ID: 184578.
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 Sterling Connect:Direct for UNIX versions 4.2.0, 4.3.0, 6.0.0, and 6.1.0 contains a stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability caused by improper bounds checking. A local attacker can exploit this flaw to manipulate the software and escalate privileges to root.
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= direct= directCVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 if IBM Sterling Connect:Direct is installedSearch for running processes matching Connect:Direct (such as 'cdunix' or 'Connect:Direct' processes) using commands like 'ps -ef | grep -i direct' or check for installed binaries in standard locations like /opt, /usr/local, or application-specific directoriesAffected if The product is installed and running on the system
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Determine the installed versionRun version detection commands such as 'cdunix -version', 'ndmxldd -version', or check version files in the installation directory. Common locations include the installation root or bin directoryAffected if The version matches 4.2.0, 4.3.0, 6.0.0, or 6.1.0
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Verify the process runs with elevated privilegesCheck the effective user ID of the Connect:Direct process using 'ps -ef | grep <process>' and examine if it runs as root (UID 0)Affected if The Connect:Direct process runs as root and the installed version is among the affected versions
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Confirm local access exposureReview system permissions and local user access controls. Check who can interact with the Connect:Direct installation directory and binaries using 'ls -la' on the installation path and review /etc/passwd for local user accountsAffected if Non-privileged local users have access to the affected Connect:Direct installation and the version is vulnerable
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Check for evidence of exploitationReview system logs (such as /var/log/messages, /var/log/secure, or audit logs) for unusual privilege escalation attempts, unexpected setuid binaries, or unauthorized root account activityAffected if Logs show evidence of privilege escalation attempts or unauthorized root access coinciding with Connect:Direct usage
A user is affected if IBM Sterling Connect:Direct for UNIX is installed with version 4.2.0, 4.3.0, 6.0.0, or 6.1.0 and runs with root privileges, allowing a local attacker to potentially exploit the stack-based buffer overflow for privilege escalation.
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 patches for this vulnerability or upgrade to a fixed version when available. Limit local access to trusted users and monitor for unauthorized privilege escalation attempts.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,656.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-4587 — 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-2020-4587 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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