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CVE Record

CVE-2020-4851: IBM Spectrum Scale 5.0.0 through 5.0.5.5 and 5.1.0 through 5.1.0.2 could allow a local user to poison log f...

IBM Spectrum Scale 5.0.0 through 5.0.5.5 and 5.1.0 through 5.1.0.2 could allow a local user to poison log files which could impact support and development efforts. IBM X-Force ID: 190450.

MediumCVSS 4Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This flaw lets someone with local access to affected IBM Spectrum Scale systems poison log files. The main business risk is corrupted operational evidence, which can slow support, development, incident review, and troubleshooting. It is not described as remote compromise or service takeover in the provided sources.

Executive priority

Prioritize remediation in environments where Spectrum Scale supports critical workloads or where local users are numerous. This is a moderate operational integrity issue, not a source-confirmed active exploitation emergency.

Technical view

CVE-2020-4851 affects IBM Spectrum Scale 5.0.0 through 5.0.5.5 and 5.1.0 through 5.1.0.2. The issue is local log poisoning with CVSS 3.0 score 4.0. The supplied vector indicates local attack vector, low complexity, no user interaction, unchanged scope, and low confidentiality impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is likely limited to organizations running affected IBM Spectrum Scale versions where users or processes have local system access. Internet-facing exposure is not supported by the provided sources.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. The CVSS vector includes exploit maturity as unproven, so treat exploitation evidence as incomplete rather than active.

Researcher notes

The provided evidence is narrow: IBM describes local log poisoning and impact to support and development efforts. No CWE, proof of exploitation, public exploit detail, or specific fixed version is included in the prompt bundle.

Mitigation direction

  • Identify IBM Spectrum Scale systems in the affected version ranges.
  • Review IBM advisory guidance before selecting an upgrade or fix level.
  • Reduce unnecessary local user access on affected systems.
  • Protect operational logs with appropriate permissions and integrity monitoring.
  • Preserve suspicious logs separately before remediation or support escalation.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory deployed IBM Spectrum Scale versions across clusters and nodes.
  • Confirm whether any deployments match the affected 5.0.x or 5.1.0.x ranges.
  • Review IBM support guidance for fixed levels or interim remediation.
  • Check log integrity controls and access permissions on affected hosts.
  • Look for unexplained log anomalies affecting support or incident timelines.
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.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

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CVE-2020-4851 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
4 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.0/A:N/I:N/AV:L/UI:N/C:L/PR:N/AC:L/S:U/RC:C/E:U/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
4CVSS 3.0MediumCVSS:3.0/A:N/I:N/AV:L/UI:N/C:L/PR:N/AC:L/S:U/RC:C/E:U/RL:O2.51.4Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

4Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2020-4851Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/A:N/I:N/AV:L/UI:N/C:L/PR:N/AC:L/S:U/RC:C/E:U/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
IBMSpectrum Scale5.0.0, 5.0.5.4, 5.1.0, 5.1.0.1Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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