CVE-2020-4717
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 · uneditedA vulnerability exists in IBM SPSS Modeler Subscription Installer that allows a user with create symbolic link permission to write arbitrary file in another protected path during product installation. IBM X-Force ID: 187727.
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 confidenceA symlink attack vulnerability exists in IBM SPSS Modeler Subscription Installer where a user with create symbolic link permissions can write arbitrary files to protected paths during product installation, potentially allowing privilege escalation or file overwrite in restricted locations.
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 dataall versionsCVSS 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
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check if IBM SPSS Modeler is installedSearch for the product installation directory. Common paths include: C:\Program Files\IBM\SPSS\Modeler\ on Windows, or /opt/IBM/SPSS/Modeler/ on Linux. Also check the Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\IBM\SPSS\Modeler for installation records.Affected if The product is found installed on the system
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Determine the installed versionLocate the version information file or executable within the installation directory. On Windows, right-click the Modeler executable and select Properties > Details. On Linux, check the version file in the installation directory or run: ls -la <install_path>/Modeler/ | grep -i versionAffected if Any version of IBM SPSS Modeler is found (all versions are affected)
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Verify symbolic link creation permissionsOn Windows, check if the user account has the 'Create symbolic links' privilege by opening Local Security Policy > User Rights Assignment > Create symbolic links. On Linux, check with: ls -la /usr/bin/ln (the binary exists and is executable by the user)Affected if The user or account running installations has the ability to create symbolic links
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Inspect installation directories for symlinksSearch installation directories for any symbolic links that may have been created during or after installation. On Windows: get-childitem -Path 'C:\Program Files\IBM\SPSS\Modeler' -Recurse -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | where {$_.LinkType -eq 'SymbolicLink'}. On Linux: find /opt/IBM/SPSS/Modeler -type l -lsAffected if Unexpected symbolic links exist in or around the installation directory
A user is affected if IBM SPSS Modeler is installed and the user account or process running the installation has symbolic link creation permissions, allowing potential privilege escalation during installation.
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 the vendor patch when available. Until then, restrict symbolic link creation permissions for users running installations and ensure installation runs with minimal necessary privileges in controlled environments.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-4717 — 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-2020-4717 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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