CVE-2020-4828
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 API Connect 10.0.0.0 through 10.0.1.0 and 2018.4.1.0 through 2018.4.1.13 is vulnerable to web cache poisoning, caused by improper input validation by modifying HTTP request headers. IBM X-Force ID: 189842.
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 API Connect versions 10.0.0.0 through 10.0.1.0 and 2018.4.1.0 through 2018.4.1.13 are vulnerable to web cache poisoning due to improper input validation when handling HTTP request headers. An attacker could manipulate HTTP headers to poison the web cache, potentially causing malicious content to be served to other users.
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>= 2018.4.1.0, <= 2018.4.1.13= 10.0.0.0= 10.0.1.0CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify IBM API Connect versionCheck the installed version of IBM API Connect in your environment using the API Connect management console, installation logs, or by running the relevant version command for your deployment (such as 'apic status' or checking the product version file).Affected if The installed version is 10.0.0.0, 10.0.1.0, or falls within 2018.4.1.0 through 2018.4.1.13 inclusive.
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Confirm web caching is enabledVerify whether the web caching feature or API response caching is enabled in your API Connect configuration. Check the API Manager settings, DataPower Gateway configuration, or the caching policy applied to your APIs.Affected if Web caching is active and the API Connect version is within the affected range.
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Inspect cache key configurationReview the cache key configuration to see which HTTP headers are used as part of the cache key. Look at the API Gateway or DataPower configuration files that define cache behavior.Affected if User-controlled HTTP headers (such as Host, X-Forwarded-Host, or custom headers) are included in cache key computation without sanitization.
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Test header handling behaviorSend HTTP requests with manipulated headers (such as varying Host or X-Forwarded-Host headers) to cached API endpoints and observe whether the responses vary based on these headers or remain consistent across different header values.Affected if The same cached content is served regardless of manipulated header values, indicating potential vulnerability to cache poisoning.
You are affected if your IBM API Connect version is 10.0.0.0, 10.0.1.0, or any version from 2018.4.1.0 through 2018.4.1.13 and web caching is enabled with insufficient header validation.
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 available IBM patches to upgrade beyond the affected versions (10.0.1.0 and 2018.4.1.13). Additionally, implement strict input validation on HTTP request headers and review cache configuration to prevent cache poisoning attacks.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-4828 — 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-2020-4828 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
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