CVE-2020-4956Public exploit

Authenticated service interruption via repeated cache dumps

Published Feb 15, 2021 · Updated Sep 17, 2024

Denial of service in IBM Spectrum Protect Operations Center 7.1 and 8.1 allows remote authenticated users to exhaust host storage. The DebugRPC handler accepts an oversized value through setCacheValue and lets dumpCache write a new attacker-sized file on every call. Access requires a valid session and network reachability to the management service; repeated dumps fill the filesystem and interrupt service.

CVSS severity4.8
Medium
EPSS probability0.46%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in IBM Spectrum Protect Operations Center 7.1 and 8.1 allows remote authenticated users to exhaust host storage. The DebugRPC handler accepts an oversized value through setCacheValue and lets dumpCache write a new attacker-sized file on every call. Access requires a valid session and network reachability to the management service; repeated dumps fill the filesystem and interrupt service.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-4956
Published
Feb 15, 2021
Updated
Sep 17, 2024
Vendor
IBM
Product
IBM Spectrum Protect Operations Center
Classifications
CWE-400, T1499
Attack vector
adjacent
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 15, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 17, 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=7.1
  2. Affected versionversion=7.1.12
  3. Affected versionversion=8.1
  4. Affected versionversion=8.1.10.100

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectoradjacent
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

IBM · IBM Spectrum Protect Operations Centerversion=7.1; version=7.1.12; version=8.1; version=8.1.10.100

Published CVSS scores

2.3NIST NVDAV:A/AC:M/Au:S/C:N/I:N/A:P
4.8IBMCVSS:3.0/AV:A/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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)
Vectoradjacent
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-400Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

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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