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CVE Record

CVE-2020-5013: IBM QRadar SIEM 7.3 and 7.4 may vulnerable to a XML External Entity Injection (XXE) attack when processing...

IBM QRadar SIEM 7.3 and 7.4 may vulnerable to a XML External Entity Injection (XXE) attack when processing XML data. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to expose sensitive information or consume memory resources. IBM X-Force ID: 193245.

HighCVSS 7.1Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

IBM QRadar SIEM 7.3 and 7.4 can mishandle XML input in a way that may expose sensitive information or consume memory. This affects a core security monitoring platform, so organizations using those versions should treat it as a high-priority maintenance and exposure review item.

Executive priority

High priority for organizations running QRadar SIEM 7.3 or 7.4. The business concern is sensitive information exposure in a security platform, plus possible resource exhaustion. Urgency depends on whether affected QRadar services are reachable by low-privileged remote users.

Technical view

CVE-2020-5013 is an XML External Entity injection issue in IBM QRadar SIEM 7.3 and 7.4 when processing XML data. The CVSS 3.0 score is 7.1, with network attack vector, low privileges required, no user interaction, high confidentiality impact, and low availability impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to IBM QRadar SIEM deployments running versions 7.3 or 7.4. The source bundle does not identify specific components, endpoints, configurations, or patched build numbers.

Exploitation context

The source bundle says a remote attacker could exploit the flaw to expose sensitive information or consume memory resources. KEV is false, and the provided sources do not establish active exploitation or public exploit availability.

Researcher notes

Evidence is sufficient for affected product, broad impact, and CVSS characteristics. It is incomplete for exploit prerequisites beyond low privileges, exact XML processing path, affected endpoints, patched build numbers, and reliable detection indicators. Do not assert active exploitation from this bundle.

Mitigation direction

  • Identify all IBM QRadar SIEM 7.3 and 7.4 deployments.
  • Review IBM support advisory 6449690 for fixed levels and vendor instructions.
  • Apply IBM-recommended QRadar updates through the supported maintenance process.
  • Prioritize systems exposed to less-trusted networks or shared administrative environments.
  • Monitor QRadar for unusual memory pressure until remediation is confirmed.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm installed QRadar SIEM version and build across all appliances.
  • Compare installed versions against IBM advisory 6449690 and X-Force ID 193245.
  • Verify remediation status after applying IBM-recommended updates.
  • Review logs and monitoring for unexplained memory consumption or XML-processing errors.
  • Document remaining unsupported or unpatched QRadar instances for risk acceptance.
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-2020-5013 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
7.1 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/C:H/PR:L/UI:N/AC:L/A:L/I:N/S:U/RC:C/RL:O/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
7.1CVSS 3.0HighCVSS:3.0/AV:N/C:H/PR:L/UI:N/AC:L/A:L/I:N/S:U/RC:C/RL:O/E:U2.84.2Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

7.1High
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2020-5013Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/C:H/PR:L/UI:N/AC:L/A:L/I:N/S:U/RC:C/RL:O/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
IBMQRadar SIEM7.3, 7.4Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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