CVE-2020-4884
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 UrbanCode Deploy (UCD) 6.2.7.9, 7.0.5.4, and 7.1.1.1 stores user credentials in plain in clear text which can be read by a local user. IBM X-Force ID: 190908.
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 UrbanCode Deploy versions 6.2.7.9, 7.0.5.4, and 7.1.1.1 store user credentials in plaintext rather than using proper encryption or hashing. A local user with access to the system files can read these plaintext credentials, potentially gaining unauthorized access to user accounts and sensitive deployment resources.
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= 6.2.7.9= 7.0.5.4= 7.1.1.1CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify IBM UrbanCode Deploy installation and versionLocate the IBM UrbanCode Deploy installation directory and check the version. Common locations include /opt/ibm/ucd or C:\Program Files\ibm\ucd. Look for a version file or use the version command if available. Compare the installed version against 6.2.7.9, 7.0.5.4, and 7.1.1.1.Affected if The installed version matches exactly 6.2.7.9, 7.0.5.4, or 7.1.1.1.
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Locate credential storage filesIdentify where IBM UrbanCode Deploy stores user credentials. Common locations include the conf or config subdirectory within the installation folder, the server/conf directory, or the data directory. Look for property files, XML configuration files, or database files that contain user authentication data.Affected if Credential storage files exist in the IBM UrbanCode Deploy installation directory.
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Inspect credential files for plaintext passwordsOpen the identified credential storage files using a text editor or grep command. Search for patterns like password=, Password=, or credentials entries. Check if the password values appear as readable text rather than encrypted strings, hashes, or encoded values.Affected if Credentials in the storage files are stored as plaintext readable strings rather than encrypted or hashed values.
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Verify encryption mechanism on credential storageExamine the credential files or related configuration to determine if any encryption is applied. Look for indicators such as encrypted=true, encryption algorithm specifications, or examine if the values match known encryption patterns. If no encryption library or mechanism is referenced in the configuration, the credentials are likely stored in plaintext.Affected if No encryption mechanism is configured or applied to the stored credentials, and they appear as plaintext.
A user is affected if they are running IBM UrbanCode Deploy version 6.2.7.9, 7.0.5.4, or 7.1.1.1 AND their credential storage files contain readable plaintext passwords without encryption or hashing applied.
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 dataMigrate credentials to a secure credential storage mechanism such as IBM Cloud Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault, or implement proper encryption for stored credentials. Rotate all exposed credentials immediately after applying the fix.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-4884 — 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-2020-4884 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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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.
- 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