CVE-2013-2978 in Cognos Business Intelligence
Summary
by MITRE
Absolute path traversal vulnerability in the server in IBM Cognos Business Intelligence (BI) 8.4.1, 10.1, 10.1.1, 10.2, and 10.2.1 allows remote authenticated users to read files by leveraging the Report Author privilege, a different vulnerability than CVE-2013-2988.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/20/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-2978 represents a critical absolute path traversal flaw within IBM Cognos Business Intelligence server components. This security weakness affects multiple versions including 8.4.1, 10.1, 10.1.1, 10.2, and 10.2.1, creating a significant risk for organizations utilizing these business intelligence platforms. The vulnerability specifically leverages the Report Author privilege, indicating that authenticated users with appropriate permissions can exploit this flaw to gain unauthorized access to sensitive system files. This represents a serious escalation of privileges issue where legitimate users can bypass normal access controls to retrieve files they should not be able to access.
The technical implementation of this path traversal vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the server's file handling mechanisms. When authenticated users with Report Author privileges submit malicious file path requests, the system fails to properly sanitize or validate the input parameters, allowing attackers to manipulate file system access through absolute path references. This flaw operates at the core of the application's file access routines, where user-supplied data is directly incorporated into file system operations without proper boundary checks or validation. The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-22, which specifically addresses path traversal attacks, making it a well-documented and serious security concern within the software development lifecycle.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates substantial risk for organizations deploying IBM Cognos BI solutions. Attackers exploiting this flaw can potentially access sensitive configuration files, database connection strings, encryption keys, and other confidential information stored on the server. The impact extends beyond simple file access, as these retrieved files often contain authentication credentials, system configurations, and business-critical data that could lead to further compromise of the entire system. The fact that this vulnerability requires only Report Author privileges makes it particularly dangerous, as it can be exploited by users who legitimately need these permissions for their work, potentially going undetected for extended periods. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers legitimate credentials and privileges for persistence and lateral movement.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided security patches, restricting Report Author privileges to only essential personnel, and implementing network segmentation to limit access to the Cognos BI server. Additional protective measures include monitoring for unusual file access patterns, implementing file integrity monitoring solutions, and conducting regular security assessments of the business intelligence platform. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of input validation and proper access control mechanisms, as well as the necessity of regular security updates to address known weaknesses in enterprise software platforms. Organizations should also consider implementing principle of least privilege models and regular security training to reduce the risk of exploitation through legitimate user accounts.