CVE-2020-4851

Local log poisoning via undisclosed input handling

Published Mar 16, 2021 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

Log injection in IBM Spectrum Scale HDFS Transparency 3.1.0 allows local users to poison logs through locally supplied content. IBM has not disclosed the vulnerable log-writing locus or the input path that reaches it, only that malicious content is written into log files. Local access is required, and corrupted records can mislead or disrupt support and development analysis without interrupting the service.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.28%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Log injection in IBM Spectrum Scale HDFS Transparency 3.1.0 allows local users to poison logs through locally supplied content. IBM has not disclosed the vulnerable log-writing locus or the input path that reaches it, only that malicious content is written into log files. Local access is required, and corrupted records can mislead or disrupt support and development analysis without interrupting the service.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-4851
Published
Mar 16, 2021
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
IBM
Product
IBM Spectrum Scale
Classifications
CWE-74
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 16, 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=5.0.0
  2. Affected versionversion=5.0.5.4
  3. Affected versionversion=5.1.0
  4. Affected versionversion=5.1.0.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

IBM · IBM Spectrum Scaleversion=5.0.0; version=5.0.5.4; version=5.1.0; version=5.1.0.1

Published CVSS scores

4.0IBMCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
3.5IBMCVSS:3.0/A:N/I:N/AV:L/UI:N/C:L/PR:N/AC:L/S:U/RC:C/E:U/RL:O
5.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
2.1NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/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)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-74Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection')

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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