CVE-2019-4334 in Cognos Analytics
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Cognos Analytics 11.0 and 11.1 could reveal sensitive information to an authenticated user that could be used in future attacks against the system. IBM X-Force ID: 161271.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/11/2024
IBM Cognos Analytics version 11.0 and 11.1 contained a sensitive data exposure vulnerability that allowed authenticated users to access information that should have remained confidential. This vulnerability falls under the category of information disclosure flaws that can significantly impact system security posture and data integrity. The flaw enabled unauthorized data access through improper access controls and inadequate input validation mechanisms within the application's authentication and authorization framework.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stemmed from insufficient validation of user permissions and inadequate sanitization of input parameters within the analytics platform's web interface. When authenticated users accessed certain endpoints or performed specific operations, the system failed to properly enforce access controls, resulting in the exposure of sensitive metadata, configuration details, or internal system information. This type of vulnerability is commonly classified as CWE-200 - Information Exposure, which represents a fundamental weakness in data protection mechanisms. The flaw likely existed in the application's session management or privilege escalation handling code, where the system did not adequately verify user credentials or roles before granting access to restricted resources.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extended beyond simple information disclosure, as the exposed data could provide attackers with valuable intelligence for planning subsequent attacks against the system. The leaked information might include internal system paths, database connection details, user role hierarchies, or other sensitive configuration parameters that could be leveraged in privilege escalation attempts or targeted exploitation of other vulnerabilities. This vulnerability directly relates to ATT&CK technique T1087.001 - Account Discovery, where attackers can gather information about system accounts and their permissions. The exposure of such data could facilitate more sophisticated attack vectors including lateral movement within the network or credential theft operations that could compromise the entire analytics platform infrastructure.
Organizations utilizing IBM Cognos Analytics 11.0 and 11.1 should implement immediate mitigations including applying the official IBM security patches released for this vulnerability, reviewing and strengthening access control policies, and conducting comprehensive security assessments of the analytics platform. Additional defensive measures should involve implementing network segmentation to limit access to the analytics system, enabling detailed audit logging for all administrative activities, and performing regular security monitoring to detect anomalous access patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper access control implementation and input validation in enterprise analytics platforms where sensitive business data and system configurations are handled. Organizations should also consider implementing security awareness training for administrators and developers to prevent similar issues in custom applications built on top of the Cognos platform.