CVE-2024-40685 in Operations Analytics
Summary
by MITRE • 02/05/2026
IBM Operations Analytics – Log Analysis versions 1.3.5.0 through 1.3.8.3 and IBM SmartCloud Analytics – Log Analysis are vulnerable to a cross-site request forgery (CSRF) vulnerability that could allow an attacker to trick a trusted user into performing unauthorized actions.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/05/2026
IBM Operations Analytics – Log Analysis versions 1.3.5.0 through 1.3.8.3 and IBM SmartCloud Analytics – Log Analysis contain a cross-site request forgery vulnerability that represents a significant security weakness in the authentication and authorization mechanisms of these log analysis platforms. This vulnerability falls under CWE-352, which specifically addresses cross-site request forgery conditions where web applications fail to validate that requests originate from legitimate sources. The flaw exists in the web interface components of these analytics solutions, which are designed to process administrative commands and user actions through HTTP requests. When a user accesses the log analysis interface and maintains an authenticated session, the application does not properly validate the source of requests, allowing malicious actors to craft crafted requests that appear to originate from legitimate users. This vulnerability can be exploited through various attack vectors including email phishing campaigns, compromised web pages, or social engineering techniques that trick users into clicking malicious links or visiting compromised websites. The CSRF vulnerability specifically targets the administrative functionality of these systems, potentially enabling attackers to modify system configurations, delete log data, create new user accounts, or access sensitive information without proper authorization. The attack requires minimal technical sophistication since it exploits the trust relationship between the web application and the user's browser, leveraging the automatic inclusion of authentication cookies with each request to the target domain. According to ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1566.001 which covers phishing techniques, and T1078 which addresses valid accounts as a means of gaining access to systems. The impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft since it can compromise the integrity and availability of log analysis systems that are critical for security monitoring and incident response operations. Organizations relying on these analytics platforms for compliance reporting, forensic analysis, and security event correlation face substantial risk if this vulnerability remains unpatched. The affected versions represent a broad range of releases that likely include multiple deployments across enterprise environments, making the potential attack surface particularly extensive. Attackers could leverage this vulnerability to manipulate log data, potentially covering their tracks or creating false security events that would mislead incident response teams. The vulnerability's exploitation does not require elevated privileges beyond a standard user session, making it accessible to attackers with minimal access rights. The web application's failure to implement proper request validation mechanisms, such as anti-CSRF tokens or origin validation checks, creates an exploitable condition that violates fundamental web security principles. Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems since the vulnerability exists in multiple versions and the attack surface includes critical log analysis infrastructure used for security operations. The remediation approach should include implementing proper CSRF protection measures such as anti-CSRF tokens, implementing strict referer header validation, and ensuring that all administrative actions require explicit user confirmation. Additionally, organizations should conduct security assessments to identify other potentially vulnerable components within their IBM analytics platforms and ensure that proper network segmentation and access controls are implemented to limit the potential impact of successful exploitation attempts. The vulnerability represents a classic example of how authentication bypass mechanisms can be subverted through manipulation of request parameters and session handling, highlighting the importance of robust input validation and proper state management in web applications. This weakness directly impacts the CIA triad by compromising the integrity and availability of log data while potentially affecting confidentiality through unauthorized access to sensitive security information. Organizations should also consider implementing additional monitoring and detection capabilities to identify potential exploitation attempts, as the CSRF attack may not be immediately apparent to system administrators. The vulnerability's presence in both IBM Operations Analytics and SmartCloud Analytics platforms indicates a systemic issue within the web application architecture that requires comprehensive remediation across affected product lines. Security teams should also review their incident response procedures to ensure they can effectively detect and respond to potential CSRF-based attacks targeting these analytics platforms.