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Security Access ManagerApplication · Ibm

CVE-2020-4661

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-10-12
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
No privileges 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 Security Access Manager 9.0.7 and IBM Security Verify Access 10.0.0 could allow an attacker to obtain sensitive using timing side channel attacks which could aid in further attacks against the system. IBM X-Force ID: 186142.

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 confidence

IBM Security Access Manager 9.0.7 and IBM Security Verify Access 10.0.0 contain a timing side-channel vulnerability where an attacker can obtain sensitive information by measuring execution time differences during authentication or cryptographic operations. This timing information leak could allow inference of credentials, session tokens, or cryptographic keys through statistical analysis of multiple requests.

MitigationImplement constant-time comparisons for sensitive operations and eliminate variable timing based on secret data. Apply vendor-provided patches for IBM Security Access Manager 9.0.7 and Verify Access 10.0.0.

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
Security Access ManagerApplication
Affected:= 9.0.7.0
Security Verify AccessApplication
Affected:= 10.0.0

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
Adjacent
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/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 IBM Security Access Manager version
    Run 'dspver' command or check /opt/IBM/SGIMA/version.txt file to display the installed ISAM version
    Affected if Version displayed is exactly 9.0.7.0 (all maintenance levels of 9.0.7) and the appliance performs authentication or cryptographic operations
  2. Identify IBM Security Verify Access version
    Run 'docker ps' for containerized deployments or check /opt/IBM/verify_access/version.txt for installed ISVA version
    Affected if Version displayed is exactly 10.0.0 and the system performs authentication or cryptographic operations
  3. Verify authentication module is active
    Check the appliance admin console under 'Secure Settings > Authentication' or run 'show security' CLI command to confirm authentication services are configured and enabled
    Affected if Authentication services are enabled and the version matches 9.0.7.0 or 10.0.0 as above
  4. Inspect authentication timing behavior
    Make multiple authentication attempts with varying input and measure response times using a tool like curl with time measurement; look for inconsistent response latencies that correlate with input variations
    Affected if Response times vary measurably based on input content (such as correct vs incorrect credentials) rather than remaining constant
  5. Check for cryptographic operations in logs
    Review /var/log/maessages or authentication audit logs for evidence of password verification, session token handling, or cryptographic key operations
    Affected if The system performs password verification or cryptographic operations and version matches affected releases

A system is affected if it runs IBM Security Access Manager 9.0.7.0 or IBM Security Verify Access 10.0.0 and has authentication or cryptographic operations enabled, as the timing side-channel exists in those core functions.

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

Implement constant-time comparisons for sensitive operations and eliminate variable timing based on secret data. Apply vendor-provided patches for IBM Security Access Manager 9.0.7 and Verify Access 10.0.0.

Fix this in Security Access Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA6.0 h
38.0 hours of engineering $6,760
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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-2020-4661 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
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