CVE-2020-4899
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 could potentially leak sensitive information or allow for data corruption due to plain text transmission of sensitive information across the network. IBM X-Force ID: 190990.
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 transmits sensitive information across the network in plain text without encryption, potentially allowing attackers on the same network to intercept sensitive data or inject/modify data during transmission.
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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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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Identify installed IBM API Connect versionLocate the API Connect installation and check its version number. This is typically found in the product UI under About/Version information, or via command line tools such as apic version or apic status. Compare your installed version to the affected range of 5.0.0.0 through 5.0.8.10.Affected if The installed version falls within 5.0.0.0 to 5.0.8.10 inclusive.
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Verify TLS/SSL enforcement on API endpointsReview the API Connect gateway configuration and examine whether TLS/SSL is enabled and enforced for all published API endpoints. Check the API assembly or proxy settings to confirm encryption is required for incoming requests.Affected if TLS/SSL is not enforced or is optional for API traffic, allowing plain text communications.
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Confirm management interface encryptionAccess the API Connect management UI and API Manager settings. Check whether the management console and administrative APIs require HTTPS for all connections. Verify the TLS configuration for the management component.Affected if Management interfaces allow unencrypted HTTP access or have TLS disabled.
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Inspect internal component communicationsExamine the configuration between API Connect internal components such as the gateway, analytics, portal, and management services. Verify that inter-service communication channels are encrypted with TLS.Affected if Internal component-to-component traffic transmits in plain text without encryption.
A user is affected if their IBM API Connect version is between 5.0.0.0 and 5.0.8.10 AND TLS/SSL encryption is not enforced for API endpoints, management interfaces, or internal communications.
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 dataEnable and enforce TLS/SSL encryption for all network communications within the API Connect environment, including all API endpoints, management interfaces, and internal component communications.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-4899 — 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-2020-4899 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