CVE-2020-4160Network attack vector

Sensitive information disclosure via missing HSTS

Published Nov 8, 2021 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

Information disclosure in IBM QRadar Network Security 5.4.0 and 5.5.0 allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information via man-in-the-middle attacks. The appliance fails to emit HTTP Strict Transport Security headers, allowing downgrade or interception of HTTPS sessions by an on-path attacker. The attack requires network interception but no account or user interaction, and the documented consequence is confidentiality loss without integrity or availability impact.

CVSS severity5.9
Medium
EPSS probability1.32%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Information disclosure in IBM QRadar Network Security 5.4.0 and 5.5.0 allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information via man-in-the-middle attacks. The appliance fails to emit HTTP Strict Transport Security headers, allowing downgrade or interception of HTTPS sessions by an on-path attacker. The attack requires network interception but no account or user interaction, and the documented consequence is confidentiality loss without integrity or availability impact.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-4160
Published
Nov 8, 2021
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
IBM
Product
IBM QRadar Network Security
Classifications
T1557
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Nov 8, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 16, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=5.4.0
  2. Affected versionversion=5.5.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

IBM · IBM QRadar Network Securityversion=5.4.0; version=5.5.0

Published CVSS scores

4.3NVDAV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
5.9IBM CorporationCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
5.9NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1557Adversary-in-the-Middle

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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