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Cognos AnalyticsApplication · Ibm

CVE-2020-4561

CRITICAL · 10.0 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-06-01
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

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 11.0 and 11.1 DQM API allows submitting of all control requests in unauthenticated sessions. This allows a remote attacker who can access a valid CA endpoint to read and write files to the Cognos Analytics system. IBM X-Force ID: 183903.

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

The DQM API in IBM Cognos Analytics 11.0 and 11.1 fails to enforce authentication on control requests, allowing any user who can reach the CA endpoint to submit unauthenticated requests. This enables a remote attacker to read and write arbitrary files on the Cognos Analytics server, achieving complete compromise without credentials.

MitigationApply IBM security patches for CVE-2020-4561 or upgrade to a supported version of Cognos Analytics. Additionally, restrict network access to Cognos endpoints to trusted sources and implement monitoring for suspicious file access patterns.

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= 11.1.0
Oncommand InsightApplication
Affected:all versions

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
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/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 checks

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

  1. Identify IBM Cognos Analytics installation
    Locate the Cognos installation directory and check the version information in the installation metadata or product information file. Common locations include the bin directory or a versioninfo file within the Cognos installation folder.
    Affected if The installed version matches 11.0.0 or 11.1.0 exactly.
  2. Determine if DQM API is enabled
    Check the Cognos Analytics configuration files (typically camconfiguration.xml or similar) for the Data Quality Module (DQM) API settings. Look for entries indicating DQM is installed and activated.
    Affected if DQM API is installed and enabled in the Cognos environment.
  3. Verify DQM API endpoint accessibility
    Attempt to access the DQM API endpoint (typically at /api/dqm/ or similar paths under the Cognos web root) using a web request without providing authentication credentials.
    Affected if The DQM API endpoint responds to requests without requiring authentication.
  4. Check network exposure of Cognos endpoints
    Review firewall rules, network ACLs, or reverse proxy configurations to determine if the Cognos web interface is exposed to untrusted networks.
    Affected if The Cognos endpoint is accessible from networks other than trusted internal sources.

A user is affected if they have IBM Cognos Analytics version 11.0.0 or 11.1.0 with the DQM API enabled and accessible without authentication, particularly if exposed to untrusted networks.

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
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch www.ibm.com →
Interim mitigation

Apply IBM security patches for CVE-2020-4561 or upgrade to a supported version of Cognos Analytics. Additionally, restrict network access to Cognos endpoints to trusted sources and implement monitoring for suspicious file access patterns.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Apply IBM Cognos Analytics 11.0/11.1 security patch from IBM Support (reference: node/6451705)

  1. 1. Access the IBM support page at https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6451705 to obtain the official security patch for CVE-2020-4561
  2. 2. Identify the appropriate patch for your specific IBM Cognos Analytics version (11.0.0 or 11.1.0) from the patch documentation
  3. 3. Download the required patch file from IBM Fix Central or the support portal
  4. 4. Apply the patch to all affected Cognos Analytics server installations following the vendor-provided installation instructions
  5. 5. After patching, verify that the DQM API now requires authentication for control requests
  6. 6. Test that legitimate authenticated operations continue to function correctly

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

Fix this in Cognos Analytics Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,760
Get the patch applied

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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-2020-4561 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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