CVE-2026-115519 in Business Hub
Summary
by MITRE • 10/22/2026
Missing security attributes on sensitive cookies in KNIME Business Hub before version 1.19.0 allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to compromise user sessions if other security issues such as a cross-site scripting vulnerability or a man-in-the-middle attack are present. A workaround is not possible.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/22/2026
The absence of critical security attributes on sensitive cookies within KNIME Business Hub versions prior to 1.19.0 represents a significant configuration weakness that undermines the integrity and confidentiality of user sessions. This vulnerability stems from the application failing to set essential HTTP flags such as Secure, HttpOnly, SameSite, or Path restrictions when establishing session identifiers. In modern web security architecture, these attributes serve as fundamental controls designed to mitigate common attack vectors including cross-site scripting, man-in-the-middle attacks, and cross-site request forgery. Without them, the browser transmits cookies in plaintext over unencrypted connections, exposes them to client-side scripts, or allows them to be sent with requests initiated by third-party sites, thereby stripping away layers of defense that are standard practice for secure web applications.
The technical flaw lies in the default configuration behavior where session management components do not enforce strict cookie policies. When a user authenticates and receives a session token stored in a cookie, the lack of the Secure flag means this token can be intercepted via network sniffing on unencrypted HTTP channels or through compromised public Wi-Fi networks. Furthermore, if the HttpOnly attribute is missing, malicious JavaScript executed during a cross-site scripting attack can read the session ID directly from the document.cookie object. Similarly, without SameSite restrictions, the cookie may be included in requests made by other domains, facilitating cross-site request forgery attacks where an attacker tricks a user into performing unintended actions on the authenticated platform.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe because it effectively neutralizes standard browser-based security mechanisms that rely on these attributes to function correctly. An unauthenticated remote attacker does not need to exploit KNIME Business Hub directly for this specific flaw but can leverage existing vulnerabilities such as cross-site scripting or network-level interception to steal session tokens. Once a session ID is compromised, the attacker gains full unauthorized access to the victim's account, potentially leading to data exfiltration, privilege escalation within the business intelligence environment, and manipulation of analytical workflows. This risk is particularly acute in enterprise environments where sensitive corporate data and proprietary models are processed through the platform.
This issue aligns with CWE-614, which describes the insufficient session identifier management due to missing security attributes, and maps directly to ATT&CK technique T1539, Steal Web Session Cookie. The vulnerability exploits the trust relationship between the browser and the server by removing the safeguards that ensure cookies are only transmitted under secure conditions and accessible only to the intended application context. It highlights a critical gap in the defense-in-depth strategy where reliance on single controls is insufficient without complementary cookie hardening measures.
Mitigation for this issue requires an immediate upgrade to KNIME Business Hub version 1.19.0 or later, which addresses these configuration deficiencies by enforcing secure defaults for session cookies. Until such an update can be applied in controlled environments, administrators should consider implementing reverse proxy configurations that inject the Secure and HttpOnly flags into Set-Cookie headers if the application itself cannot be modified to do so securely. Additionally, ensuring all traffic is served over HTTPS minimizes the risk associated with the missing Secure flag, although it does not fully mitigate risks from cross-site scripting or CSRF due to the absence of other attributes like SameSite. Long-term remediation should involve a comprehensive review of cookie handling practices across all web applications to ensure compliance with OWASP Session Management guidelines and industry best standards for secure coding.