Cyber Resilience

CVE-2020-4280

RCE in Ibm Qradar Security Information And Event Manager 7.3.0 – 7.3.3

Public PoCHigh EPSSRCEDeserialization
Published
08 October 2020
Modified
21 November 2024
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 8.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.73 99.4th percentile
Risk Priority 87 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2020-4280 is a high-severity Deserialization of Untrusted Data (CWE-502) vulnerability in Ibm Qradar Security Information And Event Manager. Its CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Operationally, ranked in the top 0.6% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

IBM QRadar SIEM 7.3 and 7.4 could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the system, caused by insecure deserialization of user-supplied content by the Java deserialization function. By sending a malicious serialized Java object, an attacker could…

more

exploit this vulnerability to execute arbitrary commands on the system. IBM X-Force ID: 176140.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

Likely ATT&CK TechniquesAI

Techniques this vulnerability likely enables, inferred from its description, weakness type, and attributed-actor tradecraft. Confidence is per-technique.

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Accessconfidence: HIGH
Insecure Java deserialization of attacker-supplied content on a public-facing SIEM application directly enables remote command execution.
T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter Executionconfidence: HIGH
Successful exploitation results in arbitrary command execution on the target system.
T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Executionconfidence: MEDIUM
Client-side exploitation via a malicious serialized object could be delivered to trigger the vulnerability.
inferred from description + CWE · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2024-27269Same product: Ibm Qradar Security Information And Event Manager
CVE-2023-26274Same product: Ibm Qradar Security Information And Event Manager
CVE-2023-40367Same product: Ibm Qradar Security Information And Event Manager
CVE-2023-22875Same product: Ibm Qradar Security Information And Event Manager
CVE-2023-30994Same product: Ibm Qradar Security Information And Event Manager
CVE-2023-26273Same product: Ibm Qradar Security Information And Event Manager
CVE-2023-26276Same product: Ibm Qradar Security Information And Event Manager
CVE-2020-4888Same product: Ibm Qradar Security Information And Event Manager
CVE-2022-47986Same product: Linux Linux Kernel
CVE-2023-32336Same product: Linux Linux Kernel

Affected Assets

ibm
qradar security information and event manager
7.3.3 · 7.3.0 — 7.3.3 · 7.4.0 — 7.4.1

Mitigating Controls

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-502

Penetration testing supplies malicious serialized objects, detecting unsafe deserialization and supporting corrective actions.

addresses: CWE-502

Evaluation of untrusted data handling (deserialization testing) reveals unsafe processing, which the required remediation process addresses.

addresses: CWE-502

Untrusted serialized data can be deserialized and observed inside the chamber, blocking gadget-chain exploitation outside the sandbox.

addresses: CWE-502

Validates or rejects untrusted serialized data before deserialization occurs.

addresses: CWE-502

Identifies and blocks malicious code introduced through deserialization of untrusted data at system boundaries.

addresses: CWE-502

Integrity verification of serialized information can detect tampering before deserialization occurs.

addresses: CWE-502

Provenance of associated data allows detection of untrusted sources before deserialization or processing occurs.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-02 none match
prevents

PR.PS-02 addresses only post-deployment updates/patching and cannot prevent introduction of unsafe deserialization code, yet it can remediate some instances when the flaw exists in outdated libraries or components.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

detects

Security testing includes validation of deserialization routines and the use of untrusted data, reducing the likelihood that unsafe object reconstruction will be deployed.

prevents

Requiring vetted libraries, regular updates and SAST before release reduces the likelihood that deserialization logic will accept and act on attacker-controlled serialized objects.

detects

Regular scanning of third-party libraries and timely patching reduce the likelihood that unsafe deserialization vulnerabilities remain active.

none

Mandatory malware scanning of data received over networks or storage media intercepts malicious serialized payloads before they are deserialized by the target application.

References