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Cognos AnalyticsApplication · Ibm

CVE-2019-4178

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-04-15
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 11.0.13.0 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
IBM Cognos Analytics 11 could allow a remote attacker to traverse directories on the system. An attacker could send a specially-crafted URL request to write or view arbitrary files on the system. IBM X-Force ID: 158919.

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 confidence

IBM Cognos Analytics 11 contains a path traversal vulnerability that allows remote attackers to traverse directories and read/write arbitrary files on the system via specially-crafted URL requests. This critical flaw enables complete file system access and potential remote code execution.

MitigationApply the IBM patch for CVE-2019-4178 or upgrade to a patched version of Cognos Analytics 11. Restrict network access to the Cognos Analytics interface as an interim control.

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
Cognos AnalyticsApplication
Affected:>= 11.0.0.0, <= 11.0.13.0

CVSS 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
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed IBM Cognos Analytics version
    Check the Cognos Analytics installation directory for a version file, or access the About page via the Cognos web interface (usually at /ibmcognos/about or through the Help > About menu in the portal). Alternatively, check the installation logs or registry entries on the server.
    Affected if The installed version is 11.0.0.0 through 11.0.13.0 (inclusive)
  2. Confirm Cognos Analytics web portal is running and accessible
    Attempt to access the Cognos Analytics login page (typically at http://hostname:9300/ibmcognos or https://hostname:9443/ibmcognos). Verify the service is active by checking the IBM Cognos BI service status in Windows Services or via command line (net start | findstr Cognos).
    Affected if The Cognos Analytics web portal is running and network-accessible
  3. Review web server access logs for path traversal attempts
    Examine the Cognos analytics/logs directory for web access logs (typically c8_event.log or c8_perf.log). Search for patterns such as '../', '..\', URL-encoded path traversal sequences (%2e%2e/), or attempts to access system files (e.g., /ibmcognos/../, /ibmcognos/..\).
  4. Check for unauthorized file creation or modification
    Review file system access logs or compare file timestamps in directories outside the typical Cognos data directories. Look for new or modified files in system directories (e.g., Windows/System32, /etc) or configuration files that may indicate successful exploitation.

A user is affected if IBM Cognos Analytics version 11.0.0.0 through 11.0.13.0 is installed and the web portal is accessible, warranting further investigation for signs of exploitation in access logs.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 11.0.13.0
Interim mitigation

Apply the IBM patch for CVE-2019-4178 or upgrade to a patched version of Cognos Analytics 11. Restrict network access to the Cognos Analytics interface as an interim control.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

IBM Cognos Analytics 11.0.14 or later

  1. 1. Identify your current IBM Cognos Analytics installation version by checking the Cognos Configuration or the installation directory.
  2. 2. Schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade process.
  3. 3. Back up your existing IBM Cognos Analytics installation, including the configuration, content store database, and any customizations.
  4. 4. Download IBM Cognos Analytics 11.0.14 or later from IBM Fix Central (https://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/).
  5. 5. Install the updated version following IBM's installation documentation, selecting the upgrade option.
  6. 6. After installation, verify that the version shows 11.0.14 or higher in Cognos Configuration.
  7. 7. Test critical business reports and workflows to ensure functionality is intact.
  8. 8. Validate the fix by attempting a directory traversal request to confirm the vulnerability is patched (e.g., requests with ../ patterns in URLs should be rejected).
Caveat Review IBM Cognos Analytics 11.0.14 release notes for any configuration or compatibility changes before upgrading; custom scripts or integrations may need updates.

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Cognos Analytics Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
30.0 hours of engineering $5,160
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-4178 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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