CVE-2012-6350 in Cognos TM1
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Web component in IBM Cognos TM1 before 9.5.2 FP3 and 10.1 before 10.1 FP1 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/02/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-6350 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within IBM Cognos TM1's web component, affecting versions prior to 9.5.2 FP3 and 10.1 FP1. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is a fundamental web application security weakness that enables attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. The affected IBM Cognos TM1 platform is widely used for business intelligence and performance management, making this vulnerability particularly concerning for enterprise environments that rely on these analytics capabilities.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding within the web interface of IBM Cognos TM1. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious payloads that are then executed in the context of other users' browsers when they access affected web pages. The unspecified vectors suggest that the vulnerability could be triggered through multiple entry points within the web component, potentially including user input fields, URL parameters, or data imported into the system. This broad attack surface increases the likelihood of successful exploitation and makes the vulnerability particularly challenging to defend against through simple input sanitization measures alone.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to perform a range of malicious activities including session hijacking, data theft, and unauthorized access to sensitive business intelligence information. In enterprise environments where Cognos TM1 serves as a central platform for financial reporting, performance metrics, and strategic analytics, successful exploitation could lead to significant financial loss, competitive disadvantage, and regulatory compliance violations. The vulnerability's remote nature means that attackers do not require physical access to the system or network, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with remote workers or public-facing web interfaces.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should prioritize immediate remediation through the application of IBM's security patches and updates, specifically targeting the 9.5.2 FP3 and 10.1 FP1 releases. Security teams should also implement network-based mitigations including web application firewalls and content filtering solutions that can detect and block suspicious script payloads. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date security practices and highlights the need for regular security assessments of enterprise business intelligence platforms. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1566 (Phishing with Malicious Attachments) and T1059 (Command and Scripting Interpreter) techniques, as attackers could leverage the XSS capability to establish persistent access and execute additional malicious commands through compromised user sessions.