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Service Manager AutomationApplication · Microfocus

CVE-2020-9521

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-03-26
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable 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
An SQL injection vulnerability was discovered in Micro Focus Service Manager Automation (SMA), affecting versions 2019.08, 2019.05, 2019.02, 2018.08, 2018.05, 2018.02. The vulnerability could allow for the improper neutralization of special elements in SQL commands and may lead to the product being vulnerable to SQL injection.

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

SQL injection vulnerability in Micro Focus Service Manager Automation (SMA) allows attackers to inject malicious SQL commands through unsanitized input. The vulnerability affects versions 2019.08, 2019.05, 2019.02, 2018.08, 2018.05, and 2018.02, potentially enabling unauthorized database access or manipulation.

MitigationApply vendor-provided patches or upgrade to a non-vulnerable version of Service Manager Automation. Until patches are applied, restrict network access to the SMA interface and implement input validation as a compensating control.

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
Service Manager AutomationApplication
Affected:= 2018.02= 2018.05= 2018.08= 2019.02= 2019.05= 2019.08

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify if Service Manager Automation is installed
    Locate SMA installation directories or check for SMA services running on the system. Common locations include /opt/microfocus/sma or C:\Program Files\Micro Focus\Service Manager Automation. Check running processes for 'sma' or 'servicemanager' processes.
    Affected if Service Manager Automation is found to be installed on the system
  2. Determine the installed SMA version
    Check the SMA version information through the web interface (typically at /sma or /smash display), the installation directory readme files, or by querying the SMA service directly. Compare the version number against the affected list: 2018.02, 2018.05, 2018.08, 2019.02, 2019.05, or 2019.08.
    Affected if The installed version exactly matches one of: 2018.02, 2018.05, 2018.08, 2019.02, 2019.05, or 2019.08
  3. Verify if the SMA web interface is accessible
    Attempt to access the SMA web portal via HTTP/HTTPS on the configured port (commonly 8080 or 8443). Determine if the interface is exposed to network users or the internet.
    Affected if The SMA web interface is accessible and the installed version matches an affected release
  4. Inspect web application logs for SQL injection indicators
    Review SMA web logs in the logs directory for unusual SQL syntax, error messages containing 'SQL', 'syntax error', or database table references in request parameters. Check for 500 errors or database authentication failures.
    Affected if Logs contain SQL error messages or suspicious database query patterns in request parameters

You are affected if Service Manager Automation is installed and the version matches any of the following: 2018.02, 2018.05, 2018.08, 2019.02, 2019.05, or 2019.08, and the web interface is accessible.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor-provided patches or upgrade to a non-vulnerable version of Service Manager Automation. Until patches are applied, restrict network access to the SMA interface and implement input validation as a compensating control.

Fix this in Service Manager Automation Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,280
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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-2020-9521 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