CVE-2026-14963 in Cognos Command Center
Summary
by MITRE • 11/08/2026
IBM Cognos Command Center 10.2.4.1 and 10.2.5 could allow a remote attacker to execute unauthorized processes due to cross-site request forgery.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/08/2026
The vulnerability identified in IBM Cognos Command Center versions 10.2.4.1 and 10.2.5 represents a critical security flaw rooted in the application's failure to adequately validate incoming requests for authenticity. This specific weakness is classified as Cross-Site Request Forgery, commonly referred to by its acronym CSRF or XSRF. In this attack vector, an attacker does not need to inject malicious code directly into the target system nor do they necessarily require valid user credentials through brute force or credential stuffing. Instead, the exploitation relies on tricking a legitimate, authenticated user into performing unintended actions within the application interface. The core technical flaw lies in the absence of robust anti-CSRF tokens or insufficient validation mechanisms that ensure requests originate from authorized sources rather than being forged by external malicious entities.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability allows for significant unauthorized activity because IBM Cognos Command Center is responsible for managing and monitoring IBM Cognos Analytics environments. If a user with administrative privileges or elevated permissions visits a maliciously crafted webpage while logged into the Command Center interface, their browser may automatically send authenticated requests to the application without their knowledge or consent. These forged requests can trigger actions such as modifying system configurations, creating new users, altering security policies, or executing administrative commands. The impact is severe because it bypasses traditional authentication controls by leveraging the user's existing session state and trust relationship with the web application.
The technical mechanism typically involves an attacker hosting a malicious page containing hidden forms or JavaScript that automatically submits requests to vulnerable endpoints within IBM Cognos Command Center. Since modern browsers include features like SameSite cookie attributes, attackers often attempt to bypass these protections by using techniques such as cross-origin request smuggling or exploiting specific browser behaviors regarding mixed content and third-party cookies. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which defines Cross-Site Request Forgery as a weakness where an application uses user-supplied input without proper validation before performing state-changing operations. This lack of verification allows the server to treat maliciously crafted requests as legitimate actions initiated by the authenticated user.
In terms of threat modeling and industry standards, this vulnerability maps directly to the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the tactic of Execution or Defense Evasion, specifically within techniques that involve social engineering combined with automated exploitation. Attackers can use CSRF to pivot from a simple phishing campaign into full system compromise by manipulating administrative functions. The persistence of such vulnerabilities in enterprise-grade software highlights the importance of implementing defense-in-depth strategies. Mitigation efforts must focus on both client-side and server-side controls, including the implementation of unique per-session anti-CSRF tokens that are validated upon every state-changing request.
To remediate this issue effectively, organizations should ensure they have applied all available security patches provided by IBM for versions 10.2.4.1 and 10.2.5. Beyond patching, developers and administrators must enforce strict input validation on all endpoints that modify system state. This includes verifying the Origin header to confirm requests originate from trusted domains rather than arbitrary external sources. Additionally, implementing HTTP-only flags for session cookies can prevent client-side scripts from accessing them, thereby reducing the attack surface for CSRF exploits that rely on stealing or manipulating cookie data. Regular security audits and penetration testing should be conducted to identify similar weaknesses in other components of the IBM Cognos ecosystem before they can be exploited by malicious actors seeking unauthorized access or system control.