CVE-2020-4838
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 5.0.0.0 through 5.0.8.10 is vulnerable to stored cross-site scripting. This vulnerability allows users to embed arbitrary JavaScript code in the Web UI thus altering the intended functionality potentially leading to credentials disclosure within a trusted session. IBM X-Force ID: 190036.
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 confidenceIBM API Connect versions 5.0.0.0 through 5.0.8.10 contain a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Web UI. An authenticated user can inject malicious JavaScript code that gets stored on the server and executes in the browsers of other users viewing the affected interface, potentially enabling session hijacking and credentials disclosure.
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>= 5.0.0.0, <= 5.0.8.10CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/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 the installed IBM API Connect versionCheck the product version through the Web UI (typically found in the About or Settings page) or by running the `apic version` command from the API Connect toolkit CLIAffected if The version falls within 5.0.0.0 through 5.0.8.10 (inclusive)
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Confirm the Web UI component is enabledVerify that the API Connect Web UI (also known as API Manager UI or Developer Portal) is accessible and operational by attempting to log in or access the UI URLAffected if The Web UI is enabled and reachable, making the XSS attack surface present
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Verify user authentication is configuredCheck if user authentication is enabled for the API Connect environment, as the vulnerability requires an authenticated user to inject the malicious scriptAffected if Authentication is enabled and users can log into the Web UI
You are affected if your IBM API Connect installation is version 5.0.0.0 through 5.0.8.10 and the Web UI with user authentication is enabled, as the stored XSS can be injected by any authenticated user and execute in other users' browsers.
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 dataUpgrade IBM API Connect to a version beyond 5.0.8.10 that includes the security fix. Additionally, implement proper input validation and output encoding for all user-supplied data displayed in the Web UI.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,888.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-4838 — 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-2020-4838 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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