CVE-2019-4342 in Cognos Analytics
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Cognos Analytics 11.0 and 11.1 is vulnerable to cross-site scripting. This vulnerability allows users to embed arbitrary JavaScript code in the Web UI thus altering the intended functionality potentially leading to credentials disclosure within a trusted session. IBM X-Force ID: 161421.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/26/2023
IBM Cognos Analytics versions 11.0 and 11.1 contain a cross-site scripting vulnerability that represents a critical security weakness in the web-based user interface. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, where the application fails to properly sanitize user input before rendering it in web pages. The flaw exists in the web UI components that process and display user-provided data without adequate validation or encoding mechanisms, creating an attack surface where malicious actors can inject malicious JavaScript code through crafted input fields or parameters.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability enables attackers to execute arbitrary JavaScript within the context of a victim's browser session. When a user interacts with the affected application, the malicious script can manipulate the web page behavior and potentially access sensitive session data. This particular weakness creates a pathway for credential theft through session hijacking techniques, as the injected JavaScript can capture authentication tokens, cookies, or other session identifiers that are typically stored in the browser's memory. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates within the trusted session context, making it difficult for standard security measures to detect the malicious activity.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft, as it can enable more sophisticated attacks such as man-in-the-middle operations, session fixation, or even privilege escalation within the application. Attackers can leverage this weakness to gain unauthorized access to sensitive business intelligence data, manipulate reporting functionalities, or establish persistent access points within the organization's analytics infrastructure. The attack vector typically involves crafting malicious input that gets processed by the application's web interface and subsequently executed in the victim's browser, making it particularly challenging to defend against since legitimate user interactions cannot be easily distinguished from malicious ones.
Organizations utilizing IBM Cognos Analytics should implement immediate mitigations including input validation and output encoding controls to prevent JavaScript injection. The recommended approach involves implementing comprehensive sanitization of all user inputs before processing and rendering within the web interface, along with deploying Content Security Policy headers to restrict script execution. Additionally, regular security updates and patches from IBM should be applied immediately to address the underlying vulnerability. Network segmentation and monitoring solutions should be enhanced to detect anomalous JavaScript execution patterns, while user access controls should be reviewed to minimize the impact of potential exploitation. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter and T1566 for Phishing, as it enables attackers to establish persistent access through client-side exploitation.