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Cognos ControllerApplication · Ibm

CVE-2023-28952

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-05-03
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 Controller 10.4.1, 10.4.2, and 11.0.0 is vulnerable to injection attacks in application logging by not sanitizing user provided data. IBM X-Force ID: 251463.

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 confidence

IBM Cognos Controller versions 10.4.1, 10.4.2, and 11.0.0 contains a log injection vulnerability where user-supplied input is written to application logs without sanitization. An attacker could inject malicious content into log entries by including special characters or crafted payloads in user input fields, potentially leading to log forging, secondary injection attacks, or manipulation of log analysis tools.

MitigationImplement input validation and output encoding for all user-provided data before logging. Use structured logging frameworks that automatically escape special characters, or apply context-aware escaping (e.g., newline removal, character escaping) to prevent log injection.

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 ControllerApplication
Affected:= 10.4.1= 10.4.2= 11.0.0

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
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/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. Verify IBM Cognos Controller is installed
    Check the installed software list or program files for IBM Cognos Controller. Typically found under the installation directory (often C:\Program Files\IBM\Cognos\Controller or similar).
    Affected if IBM Cognos Controller software is present on the system
  2. Determine the installed version
    Locate version information in the application, typically via Help > About, an About dialog, or a version file in the installation directory.
    Affected if The version displayed is 10.4.1, 10.4.2, or 11.0.0 exactly
  3. Confirm application logging is active
    Check if the application writes logs. Look for log files in the logs subdirectory within the Cognos Controller installation folder, or check logging configuration files.
    Affected if Log files exist and the application writes user-generated content to them (such as user input fields being recorded)
  4. Verify user input reaches logs without sanitization
    Review a sample of recent log entries. If the application logs user-provided input (e.g., from data entry forms, import fields, or user names), inspect whether special characters like newlines, tabs, or escape sequences appear literally in the log output.
    Affected if User input appears unmodified in log files with no evidence of character escaping or input validation applied before logging

Your environment is affected if IBM Cognos Controller version 10.4.1, 10.4.2, or 11.0.0 is installed and the application logs user-supplied input without sanitization.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Implement input validation and output encoding for all user-provided data before logging. Use structured logging frameworks that automatically escape special characters, or apply context-aware escaping (e.g., newline removal, character escaping) to prevent log injection.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

IBM Cognos Controller 10.4.3 or later, or 11.0.1 or later (check IBM for exact fixed release)

  1. Check IBM Support portal (www.ibm.com/support) for IBM Cognos Controller security bulletins related to CVE-2023-28952
  2. Locate the specific security patch or interim fix for your current version (10.4.1, 10.4.2, or 11.0.0)
  3. Download and apply the appropriate IBM fix package following IBM installation instructions
  4. Verify the patch was applied successfully by checking the application version or consulting IBM documentation
  5. As a configuration mitigation, ensure application logs are monitored for suspicious entries and implement input validation at the application layer to reduce risk until patched
Caveat Review IBM release notes for any configuration or compatibility changes in the upgrade path

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

Fix this in Cognos Controller Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
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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-2023-28952 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