CVE-2024-45081 in Cognos Controller
Summary
by MITRE • 02/19/2025
IBM Cognos Controller 11.0.0 through 11.0.1 FP3 and IBM Controller 11.1.0
could allow an authenticated user to modify restricted content due to incorrect authorization checks.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/26/2025
IBM Cognos Controller versions 11.0.0 through 11.0.1 FP3 and 11.1.0 contain a critical authorization flaw that permits authenticated users to access and modify restricted content without proper validation. This vulnerability stems from insufficient access control mechanisms that fail to properly verify user permissions before allowing data modifications. The flaw exists within the application's authorization framework where it does not adequately enforce role-based access controls or attribute-based access controls, creating a path for privilege escalation. According to CWE-285, this represents an improper authorization vulnerability where the system fails to properly authenticate and authorize user actions. The vulnerability allows an authenticated attacker to bypass intended access restrictions and potentially modify sensitive financial data, reports, or configuration settings that should be restricted to specific user roles. This weakness directly impacts the integrity and confidentiality of the Controller environment, as users may gain access to data they should not be authorized to modify. The issue manifests when the application fails to validate whether a user has appropriate permissions for specific operations, particularly those involving data modification or administrative functions. From an operational perspective, this vulnerability could lead to unauthorized financial reporting alterations, data manipulation, or the exposure of sensitive business information. The impact extends beyond simple data modification as it undermines the fundamental security posture of the Controller system, potentially enabling more sophisticated attacks such as data exfiltration or the creation of backdoors through configuration changes. Organizations using these affected versions face significant risk of unauthorized access to their financial data management systems, as the flaw allows attackers to exploit legitimate user accounts to perform actions outside their intended authorization scope. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts and privilege escalation, as it leverages authenticated user sessions to gain elevated access rights. This authorization bypass could be exploited by both internal users with legitimate access and external attackers who have obtained valid credentials through other means. The flaw represents a critical weakness in the application's security model that directly violates security principles of least privilege and need-to-know basis. Organizations should immediately apply the vendor-provided patches or updates to resolve this vulnerability and implement additional monitoring to detect unauthorized access attempts. The security implications extend to compliance requirements for financial data handling, as unauthorized modifications could violate regulatory standards such as SOX, GDPR, or other data protection frameworks. Proper access control enforcement is essential for maintaining data integrity in enterprise financial management systems, and this vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of robust authorization validation mechanisms in business intelligence platforms.