CVE-2021-38945
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 Analytics 11.2.1, 11.2.0, and 11.1.7 could allow a remote attacker to upload arbitrary files, caused by improper content validation. IBM X-Force ID: 211238.
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 analysisThe application accepts uploaded files without properly checking their type or content, so an attacker can upload something executable. If it lands where the server will run it, that is remote code execution. Remediating it means validating content rather than just the extension, storing uploads outside the web root, and never executing them.
General guidance for the unrestricted file upload class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →
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>= 11.1.0, < 11.1.7= 11.1.7= 11.2.0= 11.2.1all versionsCVSS 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
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 · scoped11.1.7
IBM Cognos Analytics 11.1.7 FP2 or later (11.2.x recommended if applicable)
- 1. Review the IBM support page at https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6597241 for the complete security patch details
- 2. Identify your current Cognos Analytics version in the Administration console under System > Updates > About
- 3. Download the appropriate IBM Cognos Analytics fix (11.1.7 FP2 or later) from IBM Fix Central
- 4. Stop the Cognos Analytics services before applying the patch
- 5. Apply the security patch following IBM's installation instructions
- 6. Restart Cognos Analytics services
- 7. Verify the patch was applied successfully by checking the version in System > Updates > About
- 8. For Oncommand Insight, contact IBM support for alternative mitigation or timeline for a patch since no vendor patch URL was provided for that product
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-38945 — 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-2021-38945 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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