Tanzu Application Service For VmsApplication · VMware
CVE-2020-5406
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 · uneditedVMware Tanzu Application Service for VMs, 2.6.x versions prior to 2.6.18, 2.7.x versions prior to 2.7.11, and 2.8.x versions prior to 2.8.5, includes a version of PCF Autoscaling that writes database connection properties to its log, including database username and password. A malicious user with access to those logs may gain unauthorized access to the database being used by Autoscaling.
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 confidenceVMware Tanzu Application Service for VMs includes PCF Autoscaling which writes database connection properties (including username and password) to log files. A malicious user with access to these logs can obtain cleartext database credentials and gain unauthorized access to the Autoscaling database.
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
Tanzu Application Service For VmsApplication
>= 2.6.0, < 2.6.18>= 2.7.0, < 2.7.11>= 2.8.0, < 2.8.5CVSS 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
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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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Verify PCF Autoscaling is installedConfirm that the PCF Autoscaling component is deployed in your VMware Tanzu Application Service environment. Check the installation manifest or product inventory for the autoscaling service broker.Affected if PCF Autoscaling is not present in the environment, the vulnerability does not apply.
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Check TAS for VMs versionQuery the installed version of VMware Tanzu Application Service for VMs using the Ops Manager API or web interface. Compare your version against the affected ranges: 2.6.0 through 2.6.17, 2.7.0 through 2.7.10, or 2.8.0 through 2.8.4.Affected if Your version falls within any of the affected ranges (2.6.0 <= version < 2.6.18, 2.7.0 <= version < 2.7.11, or 2.8.0 <= version < 2.8.5).
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Locate Autoscaling service logsNavigate to the log directory for the PCF Autoscaling component. These are typically found in the PAS (Pivotal Application Service) log sink or the Autoscaling service broker logs directory.Affected if You cannot locate Autoscaling logs, the check cannot be completed, but the version check above remains authoritative.
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Inspect logs for database credentialsSearch the Autoscaling service logs for patterns indicating database connection strings, such as strings containing 'jdbc', 'postgres', 'mysql', 'password', or 'credential' in cleartext. Look for lines that may contain connection property definitions.Affected if Log files contain cleartext database usernames, passwords, or connection strings for the Autoscaling database.
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Audit log file access controlsReview file system permissions on the Autoscaling log files and directories. Determine which system users or roles have read access to these log files.Affected if Users without administrative privileges have read access to logs that may contain exposed database credentials.
Your environment is affected if PCF Autoscaling is installed and your TAS for VMs version falls within the affected ranges, particularly if the Autoscaling service logs are readable by non-admin users.
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 data2.6.182.7.112.8.5
Upgrade PCF Autoscaling to version 2.6.18, 2.7.11, or 2.8.5 or later. Additionally, audit log access controls and rotate any credentials that may have been exposed.
Fix this in Tanzu Application Service For Vms
Scoped from the published advisory
- 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-2020-5406 — 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-2020-5406 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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