CVE-2020-4377
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 Anaytics 11.0 and 11.1 is vulnerable to an XML External Entity Injection (XXE) attack when processing XML data. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to expose sensitive information or consume memory resources. IBM X-Force ID: 179156.
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 · moderate confidenceIBM Cognos Analytics 11.0 and 11.1 is vulnerable to XML External Entity Injection (XXE). When processing XML data, the application fails to disable external entity processing, allowing remote attackers to inject malicious XML that can read local files or cause memory exhaustion (denial of service).
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= 11.0.0= 11.1.0CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
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 IBM Cognos Analytics installation versionLocate the Cognos Analytics installation directory and check the version information file or use the Cognos Configuration tool to view the installed version number.Affected if The installed version is exactly 11.0.0 or 11.1.0
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Determine if XML import or data upload features are in useReview the Cognos Analytics deployment to identify if any reports, data sources, or transformations utilize XML input, import, or parsing functionality.Affected if XML processing features such as data import, XML-based reports, or transformation routines are enabled or in use
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Inspect XML parser configuration for external entity settingsExamine the XML parser configuration files or settings within Cognos Analytics to verify whether external entity processing and DTD processing have been disabled.Affected if XML parsers are configured to allow external entities or DTD processing (settings are not explicitly disabled)
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Check for custom XML processing componentsReview any custom or third-party components integrated with Cognos Analytics that handle XML data to determine if they properly disable XXE vectors.Affected if Custom XML-handling components do not explicitly disable external entity resolution
A user is affected if they are running exactly version 11.0.0 or 11.1.0 of IBM Cognos Analytics and the system processes XML data with parsers that have not disabled external entity and DTD processing.
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 dataUpgrade to a patched version of IBM Cognos Analytics 11.x. As an interim measure, implement XML input validation to disable external entity and DTD processing in all XML parsers within the application.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing10.0 h
- Review / QA6.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $9,504.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-4377 — 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-2020-4377 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
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