Qradar Security Information And Event ManagerApplication · Ibm

CVE-2020-4932

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-05-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 7.3.3 / 7.4.2 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

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 · unedited
IBM QRadar SIEM 7.3 and 7.4 contains hard-coded credentials, such as a password or cryptographic key, which it uses for its own inbound authentication, outbound communication to external components, or encryption of internal data. IBM X-Force ID: 191748.

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 confidence

IBM QRadar SIEM versions 7.3 and 7.4 contain hard-coded credentials (passwords or cryptographic keys) embedded in the software. These credentials are used for inbound authentication to the system, outbound communication with external components, and encryption of internal data. An attacker with knowledge of these credentials could authenticate to the system, intercept communications, or decrypt sensitive data.

MitigationUpdate to the latest IBM QRadar SIEM version that addresses this vulnerability. If immediate patching is not possible, implement network segmentation, monitor for unauthorized access using the hard-coded credentials, and follow IBM's specific guidance for credential remediation.

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
Qradar Security Information And Event ManagerApplication
Affected:>= 7.3.0, < 7.3.3>= 7.4.0, < 7.4.2= 7.3.3= 7.4.2

CVSS 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
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed QRadar version
    Access the QRadar admin console or use the system management interface to view the current software version. This is typically found in the dashboard or system settings.
    Affected if The installed version falls within 7.3.0 to 7.3.3 or 7.4.0 to 7.4.2, including the specific versions 7.3.3 and 7.4.2.
  2. Confirm version is within affected range
    Compare the identified version number against the affected ranges: versions greater than or equal to 7.3.0 but less than 7.3.3, and versions greater than or equal to 7.4.0 but less than 7.4.2.
    Affected if The version matches any of the affected ranges, indicating the hard-coded credentials vulnerability is present.
  3. Assess network exposure of QRadar services
    Determine if QRadar management interfaces, authentication portals, or API endpoints are accessible from untrusted networks. Check firewall rules and network segmentation configurations.
    Affected if QRadar authentication interfaces are exposed to networks where unauthorized actors could attempt to use the hard-coded credentials.
  4. Review authentication logs for suspicious access
    Examine QRadar authentication logs, audit trails, and access records for login attempts using default or unknown credentials, particularly from external IP addresses.
    Affected if Unusual authentication events are observed that may indicate exploitation of hard-coded credentials.

A system is affected if it runs QRadar version 7.3.0-7.3.3 or 7.4.0-7.4.2 and has accessible authentication interfaces that could accept the hard-coded credentials.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to 7.3.3 / 7.4.2 or later
Fixed in 7.3.37.4.2
Interim mitigation

Update to the latest IBM QRadar SIEM version that addresses this vulnerability. If immediate patching is not possible, implement network segmentation, monitor for unauthorized access using the hard-coded credentials, and follow IBM's specific guidance for credential remediation.

Fix this in Qradar Security Information And Event Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
40.0 hours of engineering $7,000
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-4932 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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