CVE-2020-7178
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 · uneditedA mediaforaction expression language injection remote code execution vulnerability was discovered in HPE Intelligent Management Center (iMC) version(s): Prior to iMC PLAT 7.3 (E0705P07).
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 confidenceA remote code execution vulnerability exists in HPE Intelligent Management Center (iMC) due to expression language injection in the mediaforaction parameter. Attackers can inject malicious expression language syntax to execute arbitrary operating system commands without proper sanitization.
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< 7.3= 7.3CVSS 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
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify HPE iMC installationSearch for HPE Intelligent Management Center in installed programs (Windows: check Program Files, Linux: check /opt or standard installation directories). Look for iMC server components.Affected if HPE iMC is installed on the system
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Determine installed iMC versionCheck the iMC version information typically found in the server console, About page, or version file in the installation directory. Compare against the affected versions: < 7.3 or = 7.3.Affected if Installed version is 7.3 or any version below 7.3
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Locate the web application componentIdentify the iMC web server component (usually Tomcat-based). Look for the deployment directory containing the iMC web application files.Affected if The web application component exists and is deployed
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Verify the vulnerable parameter endpoint existsExamine the web application configuration and code for endpoints that accept the 'mediaforaction' parameter. This parameter is used in expression language processing.Affected if The mediaforaction parameter handler is present in the web application
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Check web interface accessibilityDetermine if the iMC web console is accessible from network locations. Review firewall rules and access controls around port 8080 or 8443 (typical iMC web ports).Affected if The iMC web interface is network-accessible
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Review for exploitation indicatorsExamine web server logs for unusual expression language syntax patterns (such as ${, #{, or common EL injection payloads) in mediaforaction parameter requests.Affected if Suspicious EL injection patterns appear in web access logs
You are affected if HPE Intelligent Management Center version 7.3 or earlier is installed and its web interface is accessible, with potential exploitation evidenced by suspicious EL syntax in server logs.
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 data7.3
Upgrade HPE iMC to PLAT 7.3 (E0705P07) or later to patch the expression language injection vulnerability.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-7178 — 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-2020-7178 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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