CVE-2014-4810 in Cognos Mobile
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Cognos Mobile 10.1.1 before FP3 IF1, 10.2.0 before FP2 IF1, and 10.2.1 before FP4 IF1 preserves a session between the Cognos Mobile server and the Cognos Business Intelligence server after a logoff action on a mobile device, which makes it easier for remote attackers to bypass intended Business Intelligence restrictions by leveraging access to authentication data that was captured before this logoff.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/12/2017
This vulnerability in IBM Cognos Mobile affects versions prior to specific fixpacks and represents a critical session management flaw that undermines the security model of the platform. The issue stems from the improper handling of authentication sessions between the mobile client and the business intelligence server components. When a user logs off from the mobile device, the system fails to properly terminate the underlying session with the Cognos Business Intelligence server, creating a persistent authentication context that remains valid even after the user has explicitly signed out. This behavior violates fundamental security principles of session termination and access control enforcement.
The technical implementation flaw allows attackers to exploit a session persistence mechanism that should have been cleared upon logout. This vulnerability specifically targets the session management protocol between mobile and server components, where the authentication token or session identifier remains active in the backend system despite the mobile client reporting a successful logout. The persistence of these sessions creates a window of opportunity for unauthorized access, as captured authentication data can be leveraged by attackers who gain access to the mobile device or network traffic. This represents a classic case of inadequate session invalidation, which is categorized under CWE-613, Insufficient Session Expiration, and falls within the broader category of credential management vulnerabilities.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for organizations relying on IBM Cognos Mobile for business intelligence reporting and analytics. Attackers who can intercept authentication data or gain access to a mobile device after a user logs off can maintain access to restricted business intelligence resources and data. This compromise affects the principle of least privilege and can lead to unauthorized data access, potential data exfiltration, and violation of corporate security policies. The vulnerability particularly impacts organizations with sensitive business data where mobile access to analytics is enabled, as it effectively nullifies the logout functionality and creates persistent access paths for malicious actors. The attack surface is widened because the vulnerability exists at the session management layer, affecting all users who have logged off from mobile devices.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided fixpacks and service packs that address this session management flaw. System administrators should also consider implementing additional network-level controls such as session monitoring and automatic session timeout mechanisms. The remediation process should include thorough testing of session termination behavior across all supported mobile platforms and browser configurations. Security teams should conduct vulnerability assessments to identify any potential exploitation of this vulnerability and implement monitoring for suspicious session activity patterns. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566, Phishing, as attackers could potentially leverage captured session data through mobile device compromise or network interception. The fixpacks provided by IBM address the root cause by ensuring proper session invalidation upon logout operations, thereby restoring the expected security boundaries between authenticated and unauthenticated states.