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CVE Record

CVE-2020-4246: IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence 5.2.6 is vulnerable to an XML External Entity Injection (...

IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence 5.2.6 is vulnerable to an XML External Entity Injection (XXE) attack when processing XML data. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to expose sensitive information or consume memory resources. IBM X-Force ID: 175481.

HighCVSS 7.1Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence 5.2.6 can mishandle XML input. An authenticated remote attacker could use this to expose sensitive information or consume memory resources. The main business concern is confidentiality risk in an identity governance system, where exposed data may be operationally sensitive.

Executive priority

Prioritize remediation for any exposed production identity governance system because the affected product may hold sensitive identity and entitlement data. Urgency is high, but the provided sources do not justify emergency exploited-in-the-wild handling.

Technical view

CVE-2020-4246 is an XML External Entity Injection issue in IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence 5.2.6 when processing XML data. CVSS 3.0 is 7.1: network reachable, low privileges required, no user interaction, high confidentiality impact, low availability impact, and no integrity impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to organizations running IBM Security Identity Governance and Intelligence 5.2.6, especially where authenticated users can reach XML-processing workflows over the network. The provided sources do not identify other affected versions or products.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. IBM describes a remote attacker scenario, but the CVSS vector requires low privileges. Treat this as credible but not confirmed exploited in the provided evidence.

Researcher notes

Evidence supports XXE during XML processing, with confidentiality as the dominant impact. The bundle does not provide exploit details, fixed build numbers, or confirmed exploitation. Validation should focus on version presence, reachable XML-processing paths, privilege requirements, and vendor advisory alignment.

Mitigation direction

  • Review IBM advisory node 6207902 for the official remediation path.
  • Apply IBM-provided fixes or updates for affected 5.2.6 deployments.
  • Restrict network access to identity governance administration and XML-processing interfaces.
  • Limit accounts able to submit or trigger XML processing.
  • Monitor memory exhaustion and unusual data-access patterns until remediated.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory deployments and confirm whether version 5.2.6 is present.
  • Check IBM X-Force ID 175481 and the IBM advisory for current fix guidance.
  • Verify patched systems no longer report the vulnerable 5.2.6 build.
  • Review access controls around XML import or processing features.
  • Look for abnormal memory consumption or sensitive-file access indicators.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
4

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

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CVE-2020-4246 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
7.1 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.0/PR:L/UI:N/AC:L/A:L/C:H/AV:N/S:U/I:N/RC:C/RL:O/E:U

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
3Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
7.1CVSS 3.0HighCVSS:3.0/PR:L/UI:N/AC:L/A:L/C:H/AV:N/S:U/I:N/RC:C/RL:O/E:U2.84.2Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

7.1High
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2020-4246Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/PR:L/UI:N/AC:L/A:L/C:H/AV:N/S:U/I:N/RC:C/RL:O/E:U

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
IBMSecurity Identity Governance and Intelligence5.2.6Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.