LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2020-4711: IBM Spectrum Protect Plus 10.1.0 through 10.1.6 could allow a remote attacker to traverse directories on th...

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus 10.1.0 through 10.1.6 could allow a remote attacker to traverse directories on the system. An attacker could send a specially-crafted URL request containing "dot dot" sequences (/../) to view arbitrary files on the system. IBM X-Force ID: 187501.

MediumCVSS 6.5Not KEV-listedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This flaw lets a logged-in remote attacker use directory traversal to read arbitrary files from IBM Spectrum Protect Plus systems. The main business risk is confidential data exposure from backup infrastructure, which often holds sensitive operational and recovery information.

Executive priority

Prioritize remediation for internet-reachable or broadly accessible backup management systems. Treat this as a confidentiality issue affecting a sensitive platform, not as a full system compromise based on current evidence.

Technical view

CVE-2020-4711 affects IBM Spectrum Protect Plus 10.1.0 through 10.1.6. A low-privileged remote attacker could send crafted URL requests containing dot-dot path sequences to traverse directories and view arbitrary system files. CVSS 3.0 is 6.5 with high confidentiality impact and no integrity or availability impact stated.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to organizations running IBM Spectrum Protect Plus versions 10.1.0 through 10.1.6, especially where authenticated users can reach the affected web interface over the network.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not identify active exploitation, public exploit code, or CISA KEV listing. The vulnerability requires low privileges but no user interaction, making misuse plausible after account compromise or insider access.

Researcher notes

The CVSS vector indicates network attack surface, low privileges, no user interaction, unchanged scope, and high confidentiality impact. No CWE is listed in the bundle, but the described behavior is directory traversal. Evidence is strongest for affected versions and impact; exploit status is not established.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory IBM Spectrum Protect Plus deployments and identify versions 10.1.0 through 10.1.6.
  • Review IBM's security bulletin for the vendor-supported fix or upgrade path.
  • Restrict access to Spectrum Protect Plus interfaces to trusted administrative networks.
  • Review user accounts and remove unnecessary low-privileged access.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm installed Spectrum Protect Plus version against IBM's affected range.
  • Check whether the IBM-recommended fix or upgrade has been applied.
  • Review access logs for unusual URL requests containing directory traversal patterns.
  • Verify only authorized administrators can reach the management interface.
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-2020-4711 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
6.5 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.0/A:N/AC:L/S:U/AV:N/I:N/UI:N/C:H/PR:L/E:U/RL:O/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
6.5CVSS 3.0MediumCVSS:3.0/A:N/AC:L/S:U/AV:N/I:N/UI:N/C:H/PR:L/E:U/RL:O/RC:C2.83.6Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

6.5Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2020-4711Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/A:N/AC:L/S:U/AV:N/I:N/UI:N/C:H/PR:L/E:U/RL:O/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 Protect Plus10.1.0, 10.1.6Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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