CVE-2020-4491 Explained : Impact and Mitigation
Learn about CVE-2020-4491 affecting IBM Spectrum Scale versions 4.2.0.0 to 4.2.3.22 and 5.0.0.0 to 5.0.5, allowing a local attacker to cause a denial of service by overwhelming the mmfsd daemon.
IBM Spectrum Scale versions 4.2.0.0 to 4.2.3.22 and 5.0.0.0 to 5.0.5 are vulnerable to a local attacker causing denial of service through RPC requests to the mmfsd daemon.
Understanding CVE-2020-4491
IBM Spectrum Scale is susceptible to a denial-of-service attack due to a flaw that allows a local attacker to crash the service by overwhelming it with a large number of RPC requests.
What is CVE-2020-4491?
CVE-2020-4491 is a vulnerability in IBM Spectrum Scale versions 4.2.0.0 to 4.2.3.22 and 5.0.0.0 to 5.0.5 that could be exploited by a local attacker to trigger a denial-of-service condition.
The Impact of CVE-2020-4491
The vulnerability could lead to a denial of service, causing the mmfsd daemon to crash, disrupting the service availability.
Technical Details of CVE-2020-4491
IBM Spectrum Scale vulnerability details and impact.
Vulnerability Description
- Affected Versions: 4.2.0.0 to 4.2.3.22, 5.0.0.0 to 5.0.5
- Attack Vector: Local
- Attack Complexity: Low
- CVSS Base Score: 4 (Medium)
- Exploit Code Maturity: Unproven
Affected Systems and Versions
- IBM Spectrum Scale 4.2.0.0 to 4.2.3.22
- IBM Spectrum Scale 5.0.0.0 to 5.0.5
Exploitation Mechanism
The vulnerability can be exploited by a local attacker sending a large number of RPC requests to the mmfsd daemon, leading to a service crash.
Mitigation and Prevention
Steps to mitigate and prevent the CVE-2020-4491 vulnerability.
Immediate Steps to Take
- Apply official fixes provided by IBM.
- Monitor and restrict RPC requests to the mmfsd daemon.
Long-Term Security Practices
- Regularly update and patch IBM Spectrum Scale installations.
- Implement network segmentation to limit local attack vectors.
Patching and Updates
- IBM has released official fixes to address the vulnerability.