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CVE Record

CVE-2020-4412: The Spectrum Scale 4.2.0.0 through 4.2.3.21 and 5.0.0.0 through 5.0.4.3 file system component is affected b...

The Spectrum Scale 4.2.0.0 through 4.2.3.21 and 5.0.0.0 through 5.0.4.3 file system component is affected by a denial of service security vulnerability. An attacker can force the Spectrum Scale mmfsd/mmsdrserv daemons to unexpectedly exit, impacting the functionality of the Spectrum Scale cluster and the availability of file systems managed by Spectrum Scale. IBM X-Force ID: 179987.

MediumCVSS 5.3Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2020-4412 can let an unauthenticated network attacker crash key IBM Spectrum Scale file system daemons. The likely business impact is service disruption: file systems managed by the affected cluster may become unavailable until recovery actions complete.

Executive priority

Treat as a moderate operational resilience issue. It is not a confidentiality breach based on available sources, but affected clusters can suffer storage service disruption, which may affect business-critical applications.

Technical view

IBM Spectrum Scale 4.2.0.0 through 4.2.3.21 and 5.0.0.0 through 5.0.4.3 have a denial-of-service flaw in the file system component. The issue can force mmfsd or mmsdrserv to unexpectedly exit. CVSS 3.0 is 5.3, with network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, and availability impact only.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to environments running the affected IBM Spectrum Scale versions. Risk is higher where Spectrum Scale cluster services are reachable from untrusted or broadly accessible networks.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. IBM X-Force records exploit maturity as unproven. The vulnerability is still relevant for availability planning because it requires no privileges or user interaction.

Researcher notes

Evidence is concise and vendor-centered. The bundle identifies affected version ranges, daemons, availability impact, CVSS vector, and X-Force ID 179987. It does not provide root cause detail, exploit proof, or specific fixed build names.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory IBM Spectrum Scale clusters and identify deployed versions.
  • Check IBM advisory and X-Force guidance for corrected versions or vendor workarounds.
  • Prioritize remediation for clusters supporting critical shared storage or production workloads.
  • Limit Spectrum Scale service reachability to trusted management and cluster networks where operationally possible.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm whether any cluster runs 4.2.0.0-4.2.3.21 or 5.0.0.0-5.0.4.3.
  • Review Spectrum Scale daemon logs for unexpected mmfsd or mmsdrserv exits.
  • Verify monitored file system availability and cluster recovery alerts are working.
  • Record vendor advisory status and planned remediation for each affected cluster.
Prepared
Confidence
high
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.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

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CVE-2020-4412 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.3 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

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

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
5.3CVSS 3.0MediumCVSS:3.0/A:L/S:U/AV:N/PR:N/UI:N/C:N/I:N/AC:L/RL:O/E:U/RC:C3.91.4Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

5.3Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2020-4412Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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

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
IBMSpectrum Scale4.2.0.0, 5.0.0.0, 5.0.4.3, 4.2.3.21Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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