dbcve.org
Db2Application · Ibm

CVE-2020-4642

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-12-23
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 DB2 for Linux, UNIX and Windows (includes DB2 Connect Server) 9.7, 10.1, 10.5, 11.1, and 11.5 could allow local attacker to cause a denial of service inside the "DB2 Management Service".

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 DB2 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows versions 9.7 through 11.5 contains a vulnerability in the DB2 Management Service that allows a local attacker to cause a denial of service. The CVSS vector indicates low attack complexity and local attack vector, with availability impact being the primary concern.

MitigationApply the appropriate IBM DB2 fix pack or patch for versions 9.7, 10.1, 10.5, 11.1, or 11.5 as provided by IBM to remediate the vulnerability in the DB2 Management Service.

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
Db2Application
Affected:= 9.7= 10.1= 10.5= 11.1= 11.5

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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. Check if IBM DB2 is installed
    Run the command 'db2level' on Linux/Unix or check the Windows registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\IBM\DB2 for installed components
    Affected if DB2 software is present on the system
  2. Determine the DB2 version
    Execute 'db2level' and parse the output for the version number (for example, 9.7.x, 10.1.x, 10.5.x, 11.1.x, or 11.5.x)
    Affected if The displayed version matches 9.7, 10.1, 10.5, 11.1, or 11.5 (any patch level within these major versions)
  3. Identify the DB2 Management Service
    On Windows, open Services and locate 'DB2 Management Service' or run 'db2pd -dbm' to check the DB2 instance manager status; on Linux/Unix, check for the db2sysc process
    Affected if The DB2 Management Service or db2sysc process is running on the system

The system is affected if IBM DB2 versions 9.7 through 11.5 are installed and the DB2 Management Service is active, as the vulnerability resides in that specific service component.

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 the appropriate IBM DB2 fix pack or patch for versions 9.7, 10.1, 10.5, 11.1, or 11.5 as provided by IBM to remediate the vulnerability in the DB2 Management Service.

Fix this in Db2 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-4642 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2020-4642 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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