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Cognos ControllerApplication · Ibm

CVE-2023-47160

HIGH · 8.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-02-19
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.0.1.4 or later.
See remediation →
91/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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 11.0.0 through 11.0.1 FP3 and IBM Controller 11.1.0 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.

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

IBM Cognos Controller versions 11.0.0 through 11.0.1 FP3 and 11.1.0 are vulnerable to XML External Entity Injection (XXE). Attackers can exploit this by submitting malicious XML data to the application, potentially exposing sensitive information from internal systems or files, or causing denial of service through excessive memory consumption.

MitigationApply the IBM security patch for this vulnerability, or configure the application's XML parser to disable external entity processing and enable safe parsing options.

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:>= 11.0.0, < 11.0.1.4
ControllerApplication
Affected:= 11.1.0

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
High
Integrity
None
Availability
Low

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

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 installed IBM Cognos Controller version
    Locate the version information for your IBM Cognos Controller installation, typically found in the product About section, installation directory, or version management console
    Affected if The installed version is 11.0.0 through 11.0.1.3, or exactly 11.1.0
  2. Confirm XML data import or processing capability is in use
    Determine whether your deployment uses features that accept or process XML input, such as data imports, report definitions, or configuration feeds
    Affected if XML input processing features are enabled and accessible to users submitting data
  3. Examine XML parser configuration for external entity settings
    Review the application's XML parser configuration files or settings for options controlling external entity resolution
    Affected if The XML parser is configured to allow external entity processing or does not have safe parsing options enabled

Your environment is affected if the installed IBM Cognos Controller version falls within 11.0.0 through 11.0.1.3 or equals 11.1.0, and XML data processing features are accessible in your deployment.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 11.0.1.4 or later
Fixed in 11.0.1.4
Interim mitigation

Apply the IBM security patch for this vulnerability, or configure the application's XML parser to disable external entity processing and enable safe parsing options.

Recommended fix High confidence

IBM Cognos Controller 11.0.1.4 or later

  1. 1. Back up the existing IBM Cognos Controller database and configuration files.
  2. 2. Download IBM Cognos Controller version 11.0.1.4 or later from IBM Fix Central (https://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/).
  3. 3. Stop all IBM Cognos Controller services.
  4. 4. Install the IBM Cognos Controller 11.0.1.4 (or later) update following IBM's installation documentation.
  5. 5. Restart IBM Cognos Controller services.
  6. 6. Verify the installation by logging into the Controller web interface and confirming functionality.
  7. 7. Test XML import/export features to confirm the XXE vulnerability is mitigated.
Caveat Review IBM release notes for any configuration or compatibility changes between versions

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

Fix this in Cognos Controller Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.

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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-2023-47160 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