CVE-2023-23474
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 Controller 10.4.1, 10.4.2, and 11.0.0 could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information when a stack trace is returned in the browser. IBM X-Force ID: 245403.
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 confidenceIBM Cognos Controller versions 10.4.1, 10.4.2, and 11.0.0 return stack traces in browser responses when errors occur, exposing sensitive internal information such as file paths, library versions, function names, and potentially configuration details that could aid further attacks.
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= 10.4.1= 10.4.2= 11.0.0CVSS 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
- Low
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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 IBM Cognos Controller installation and versionLocate the Cognos Controller installation directory and check the version information, typically found in the installation path or through the administration interface. Common locations include the program files directory or the Cognos installation folder where version files are stored.Affected if The installed version matches exactly 10.4.1, 10.4.2, or 11.0.0.
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Trigger an error condition to test error handlingSubmit a malformed request or access a non-existent resource within the Cognos Controller web interface to induce an error response. This can be done through the browser or by sending a crafted HTTP request to the application endpoint.Affected if The error response contains stack traces, exception details, file paths, or library version information in the body or headers.
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Inspect HTTP response headers and body for sensitive informationCapture the full HTTP response from the application when an error occurs. Examine both the response body and headers for terms such as 'stack trace', 'at org.apache', 'at java.', 'line ', '.java:', or file path patterns that indicate internal implementation details are being exposed.Affected if Stack traces or verbose exception details are visible in the HTTP response.
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Check if custom error pages are configuredReview the web server and application configuration files to determine whether custom error pages or error handling mechanisms that suppress detailed exception information are in place. This may involve checking configuration files for error handling settings.Affected if Custom error pages are NOT configured and the application returns default verbose error messages containing stack traces.
You are affected if IBM Cognos Controller version 10.4.1, 10.4.2, or 11.0.0 is installed AND error responses expose stack traces or internal implementation details.
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 dataConfigure the application and web server to use custom error pages that suppress stack traces, and ensure detailed error messages are disabled in production environments.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-23474 — 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-2023-23474 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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