CVE-2020-4464

IBM WebSphere Application Server 7.0, 8.0, 8.5, and 9.0 traditional could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on a system with a specially-crafted sequence of serialized objects over the SOAP connector. IBM X-Force ID: 181489.

Published: 2020-07-17 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2020-4464 is rated High Risk (69.6/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 45.41%, 97th percentile). Core evidence: EPSS ranks this CVE among the most likely to be exploited in the near term. Mandatory action: High exploitation likelihood—assess exposure and prioritize remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2020-4464

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-12-31 45.16% 45.41% +0.26%
2 2025-11-21 45.48% 45.16% -0.33%
3 2025-11-18 45.48%

Full EPSS history (21 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2020-4464

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.8 5.9 [email protected]
8.8 3.0 HIGH
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.8 5.9 [email protected]
9.0 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:S)
A single authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
8.0 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2020-4464

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2020-4464

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
ibm websphere_application_server >= 7.0.0.0, <= 7.0.0.45 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:websphere_application_server:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm websphere_application_server >= 8.0.0.0, <= 8.0.0.15 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:websphere_application_server:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm websphere_application_server >= 8.5.0.0, <= 8.5.5.17 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:websphere_application_server:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
ibm websphere_application_server >= 9.0.0.0, <= 9.0.5.4 cpe:2.3:a:ibm:websphere_application_server:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2020-4464

cvelogic Threat Intelligence