CVE-2020-4958
📋 TL;DR
CVE-2020-4958 is an authentication bypass vulnerability in IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence that allows unauthenticated attackers to access functionality requiring user authentication or consume significant system resources. This affects IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence 5.2.6 installations. The vulnerability has a critical CVSS score of 9.8 due to its ease of exploitation and potential impact.
💻 Affected Systems
- IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise allowing attackers to access sensitive identity governance data, modify user permissions, or launch denial-of-service attacks by consuming all available resources.
Likely Case
Unauthorized access to sensitive identity management functions, privilege escalation, or resource exhaustion leading to service degradation.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if proper network segmentation and access controls prevent external access to vulnerable endpoints.
🎯 Exploit Status
The vulnerability requires no authentication and minimal technical skill to exploit. Attackers can directly access vulnerable endpoints without credentials.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Apply interim fix or upgrade to a fixed version as specified in IBM advisory
Vendor Advisory: https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6403247
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Review IBM advisory at the provided URL. 2. Apply the recommended interim fix or upgrade to a patched version. 3. Restart the IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence service. 4. Verify the fix is applied successfully.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network Access Restriction
linuxRestrict network access to IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence to only trusted IP addresses and networks.
Use firewall rules to limit access: iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport <port> -s <trusted_ip> -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport <port> -j DROP
Web Application Firewall
allDeploy a WAF with rules to block unauthenticated access to sensitive endpoints.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Isolate the system in a segmented network with strict access controls
- Implement additional authentication layers such as reverse proxy with authentication
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check if running IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence version 5.2.6. Review application logs for unauthenticated access attempts to sensitive endpoints.Check Version:
Check IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence administration console or configuration files for version information.Verify Fix Applied:
Verify the applied patch version matches IBM's advisory. Test that authentication is now required for all sensitive functionality.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unauthenticated access attempts to sensitive endpoints
- Unusual resource consumption patterns
- Access to identity management functions from unexpected IP addresses
Network Indicators:
- Unusual traffic patterns to IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence endpoints
- Requests to sensitive URLs without authentication headers
SIEM Query:
source="ibm_igi_logs" AND (http_status=200 OR http_status=302) AND (user="-" OR user="anonymous") AND (url CONTAINS "/sensitive/endpoint" OR url CONTAINS "/admin/")