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CVE Record

CVE-2020-4542: IBM Jazz Foundation and IBM Engineering products are vulnerable to cross-site scripting.

IBM Jazz Foundation and IBM Engineering products are vulnerable to cross-site scripting. This vulnerability allows users to embed arbitrary JavaScript code in the Web UI thus altering the intended functionality potentially leading to credentials disclosure within a trusted session. IBM X-force ID: 183046.

MediumCVSS 5.4Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This is a medium-severity cross-site scripting issue in IBM Jazz Foundation and IBM Engineering products. A logged-in user could place JavaScript into the web interface, and another user’s trusted browser session could run it, potentially exposing credentials or altering page behavior.

Executive priority

Treat this as a moderate-priority remediation item. It is not marked as actively exploited, but it can affect trusted browser sessions and credentials in engineering environments, making stale deployments worth addressing promptly.

Technical view

CVE-2020-4542 is an authenticated, user-interaction XSS flaw with CVSS 3.0 score 5.4. The provided affected product is IBM Rational Rhapsody Design Manager 6.0.2 and 7.0. The vector indicates network reachability, low privileges, changed scope, and low confidentiality and integrity impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely where affected IBM Rational Rhapsody Design Manager versions, or IBM Jazz Foundation and Engineering components covered by IBM’s advisory, are still deployed. Risk increases if the web UI is broadly reachable by internal users or external partners.

Exploitation context

The sources do not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. The CVSS temporal vector includes E:H, suggesting exploit maturity, but that is not evidence of active attacks. Exploitation requires low privileges and user interaction.

Researcher notes

Evidence is limited to the CVE record, IBM advisory reference, and IBM X-Force entry. Do not assume additional affected products beyond IBM’s advisory. Validation should focus on version inventory, web UI exposure, and vendor remediation state.

Mitigation direction

  • Review IBM advisory 6255694 for official remediation guidance.
  • Inventory IBM Rational Rhapsody Design Manager 6.0.2 and 7.0 instances.
  • Restrict web UI access to trusted networks and authenticated users.
  • Prioritize remediation for internet-facing or partner-accessible deployments.
  • Monitor IBM X-Force entry 183046 for updated guidance.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm deployed IBM product names and versions against IBM’s advisory.
  • Check whether affected web UIs are reachable from untrusted networks.
  • Review access logs for suspicious authenticated UI activity.
  • Verify remediation status through vendor version or fix-level evidence.
  • Confirm no unsupported affected versions remain in production.
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-2020-4542 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.4 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

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

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
5.4CVSS 3.0MediumCVSS:3.0/AV:N/UI:R/S:C/PR:L/A:N/I:L/AC:L/C:L/RC:C/E:H/RL:O2.32.7Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

5.4Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2020-4542Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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

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
IBMRational Rhapsody Design Manager6.0.2, 7.0Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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