CVE-2019-4589 in Cognos Analytics
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Cognos Analytics 11.0 and 11.1 is vulnerable to privlege escalation where the "My schedules and subscriptions" page is visible and accessible to a less privileged user. IBM X-Force ID: 167449.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/06/2020
IBM Cognos Analytics versions 11.0 and 11.1 contain a privilege escalation vulnerability that allows less privileged users to access administrative functionality through the "My schedules and subscriptions" page. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-276 access control weakness category, specifically representing improper privilege management where users can gain unauthorized access to restricted system components. The flaw exists because the application fails to properly enforce access controls on the scheduling and subscription management interface, enabling users with minimal permissions to view and potentially manipulate administrative functions. This represents a critical security gap in the application's authorization model and demonstrates poor least privilege implementation. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 legitimate credentials, as it allows attackers to leverage existing user accounts to access elevated functionality without requiring additional authentication or credential compromise.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and access control checks within the web application's user interface components. When users navigate to the "My schedules and subscriptions" page, the application does not properly verify whether the requesting user possesses the necessary administrative privileges to access certain features. This weakness creates a pathway for privilege escalation attacks where users can manipulate application state or access restricted endpoints through the seemingly benign scheduling interface. The vulnerability exists in the application's session management and role-based access control mechanisms, which fail to maintain proper boundaries between user roles and their respective permissions. The flaw can be exploited by users who should only have read-only access to scheduling features but can potentially access administrative functions that should be restricted to system administrators or power users.
The operational impact of this privilege escalation vulnerability is significant and multifaceted. An attacker with low-privilege access could potentially create, modify, or delete scheduling configurations that affect report distribution and data delivery workflows. This could lead to unauthorized data exposure, disruption of business processes, or manipulation of automated reporting systems. The vulnerability could also enable lateral movement within the organization's analytics infrastructure, as access to scheduling functionality often provides visibility into other system components and data sources. The risk is particularly elevated in environments where Cognos Analytics is used for business intelligence and reporting, as schedule configurations often control access to sensitive business data and automated data processing workflows. Additionally, this vulnerability could facilitate more sophisticated attacks by providing attackers with administrative capabilities that could be used to install backdoors, modify system configurations, or exfiltrate data through scheduled reports.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided security patches and updates for IBM Cognos Analytics 11.0 and 11.1 versions. Network segmentation and access controls should be strengthened to limit direct access to the application's administrative interfaces. Regular security assessments should be conducted to identify similar access control weaknesses in other applications and systems. The implementation of principle of least privilege should be enforced more rigorously, ensuring that users only have access to functionality necessary for their specific roles. Monitoring and logging of administrative activities should be enhanced to detect unauthorized access attempts or privilege escalation attempts. Security awareness training should be provided to administrators to recognize potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability also highlights the need for comprehensive application security testing including penetration testing and security code reviews to identify similar access control flaws in other business applications and systems.