What is CVE-2020-4854?

CVE-2020-4854 is a critical-severity vulnerability in IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, classified under Use of Hard-coded Credentials. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2020-11-23.

How severe is CVE-2020-4854?

Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.

Vulnerability in IBM Spectrum Protect Plus

CVE-2020-4854

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus 10.1.0 thorugh 10.1.6 contains hard-coded credentials, such as a password or cryptographic key, which it uses for its own inbound authentication, outbound communication to external components, or encryption of internal data. IBM X-Force ID: 190454.

Published 2020-11-23 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.8 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.024 (84.2th percentile), scored 2026-11-01.

Low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, but still tracked. 84th percentile — 84.2% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.024 · newest: 0.024 · change: 0.000

Affected products

IBM Spectrum Protect Plus — versions 10.1.0, 10.1.6
IBM Spectrum Protect Plus
Linux Kernel

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-798 — Use of Hard-coded Credentials

References

www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6367823 (Patch, Vendor Advisory)
exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/190454 (VDB Entry, vdb-entry, Vendor Advisory)
www.tenable.com/security/research/tra-2020-66 (Exploit, Third Party Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-4854?: CVE-2020-4854 is a critical-severity vulnerability in IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, classified under Use of Hard-coded Credentials. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2020-11-23.
How severe is CVE-2020-4854?: Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.