CVE-2017-1486
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedIBM Cognos Business Intelligence 10.2, 10.2.1, 10.2.1.1, and 10.2.2 is vulnerable to cross-site scripting. This vulnerability allows users to embed arbitrary JavaScript code in the Web UI thus altering the intended functionality potentially leading to credentials disclosure within a trusted session. IBM X-Force ID: 128624.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceA stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM Cognos Business Intelligence versions 10.2 through 10.2.2 allows authenticated users to embed arbitrary JavaScript code into the web interface. This can alter intended functionality and potentially lead to session hijacking or credentials disclosure within trusted sessions.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 10.2= 10.2.1= 10.2.1.1= 10.2.2CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if IBM Cognos BI is installedCheck for Cognos BI installation directories (typically under /cognos or /IBM/Cognos) and running services. Look for cognos binaries, configuration files, or the Cognos Gateway web component.Affected if IBM Cognos Business Intelligence software is present on the system
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Verify the installed version numberLocate the version file or check the Cognos Configuration tool for the exact version string. Common locations include the installation root directory or within the web application meta-information.Affected if The installed version matches 10.2, 10.2.1, 10.2.1.1, or 10.2.2 exactly
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Confirm the web interface is accessibleTest access to the Cognos web portal URL (typically /cognos/cgi-bin/cognos.cgi) to verify the web interface is exposed and reachable.Affected if The web interface is accessible over HTTP/HTTPS and accepts user authentication
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Check if authentication is enabledVerify that user authentication is configured and active in Cognos Configuration. The XSS requires an authenticated user session to exploit.Affected if Authentication is enabled and user accounts can log into the Cognos BI web portal
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Review web application logs for suspicious script injectionExamine Cognos BI server logs for patterns containing script tags (<script>, javascript:, onerror=, etc.) in user input fields such as report names, descriptions, or folder names.Affected if Logs show attempted or successful injection of HTML/script content in user-controllable fields
A user is affected if IBM Cognos BI versions 10.2 through 10.2.2 are installed with the web interface accessible and authentication enabled, allowing malicious script execution in stored content.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply IBM Cognos BI patches or updates provided by the vendor. As a temporary control, implement robust input validation and output encoding for user-supplied data in the web UI.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-1486 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2017-1486 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data