LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2020-4477: IBM Spectrum Protect Plus 10.1.0 through 10.1.5 discloses highly sensitive information in plain text in the...

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus 10.1.0 through 10.1.5 discloses highly sensitive information in plain text in the virgo log file which could be used in further attacks against the system. IBM X-Force ID: 181779.

MediumCVSS 5.3Not KEV-listedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2020-4477 is an IBM Spectrum Protect Plus issue where highly sensitive information may be written in plaintext to the virgo log file. The main business risk is credential or secret exposure that could help an attacker move further inside backup infrastructure.

Executive priority

Treat this as a medium-priority confidentiality issue for backup infrastructure. It is not reported as actively exploited, but backup systems often hold high-value credentials, so affected deployments should be remediated during the next security maintenance window.

Technical view

IBM reports that Spectrum Protect Plus 10.1.0 through 10.1.5 discloses highly sensitive information in plaintext in the virgo log. CVSS 3.0 is 5.3, with high confidentiality impact, low privileges required, high attack complexity, no user interaction, and no integrity or availability impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is likely limited to organizations running IBM Spectrum Protect Plus versions 10.1.0 through 10.1.5. Systems with broad log access, centralized log forwarding, or weak administrative separation may have higher practical risk.

Exploitation context

The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. IBM X-Force marks exploit maturity as unproven in the supplied CVSS vector. The issue can support further attacks if sensitive log contents are obtained.

Researcher notes

The record describes plaintext disclosure in the virgo log, not remote code execution. CWE is not provided. Affected range is 10.1.0 through 10.1.5. Avoid assuming specific secrets, fixed versions, or exploitation beyond what IBM and CVE sources state.

Mitigation direction

  • Identify all IBM Spectrum Protect Plus deployments and versions.
  • Review IBM advisory guidance for the official fix or supported remediation path.
  • Limit administrative and filesystem access to Spectrum Protect Plus logs.
  • Review log forwarding destinations for unnecessary exposure of virgo log data.
  • Rotate any secrets confirmed exposed in plaintext logs.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm whether any deployment runs versions 10.1.0 through 10.1.5.
  • Check whether virgo logs are collected, exported, or broadly readable.
  • Review virgo logs for sensitive plaintext using approved administrative access.
  • Verify IBM-recommended remediation has been applied.
  • Confirm exposed secrets were rotated after remediation.
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

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2020-4477 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.3 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.0/S:U/UI:N/I:N/A:N/AV:N/C:H/AC:H/PR:L/RL:O/RC:C/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
5.3CVSS 3.0MediumCVSS:3.0/S:U/UI:N/I:N/A:N/AV:N/C:H/AC:H/PR:L/RL:O/RC:C/E:U1.63.6Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

5.3Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2020-4477Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/S:U/UI:N/I:N/A:N/AV:N/C:H/AC:H/PR:L/RL:O/RC:C/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
IBMSpectrum Protect Plus10.1.0, 10.1.5Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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