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Cognos AnalyticsApplication · Ibm

CVE-2024-25042

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-12-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 12.0.3 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 11.2.0 through 11.2.4 and 12.0.0 through 12.0.3 is potentially vulnerable to Cross Site Scripting (XSS). A remote attacker could execute malicious commands due to improper validation of column headings in Cognos Explorations.

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 Analytics 11.2.0-11.2.4 and 12.0.0-12.0.3 is vulnerable to stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) due to improper validation of column headings in Cognos Explorations. A remote attacker can inject malicious JavaScript code into column headings that will execute in the context of other users' browsers when they view the affected exploration.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied patches for CVE-2024-25042 to upgrade to a fixed version. Until patches are available, implement output encoding for column headings in Cognos Explorations and consider restricting user permissions to minimize exposure.

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:>= 11.2.0, <= 11.2.4>= 12.0.0, <= 12.0.3

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
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/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. Identify IBM Cognos Analytics version
    Navigate to IBM Cognos Analytics administration console, or check the Cognos installation directory for version information files (typically in the /bin64 or /configuration folders). Alternatively, access the Cognos welcome page which displays the version number.
    Affected if The installed version falls within 11.2.0-11.2.4 or 12.0.0-12.0.3.
  2. Determine if Cognos Explorations is in use
    Check if users have access to create or view Cognos Explorations. This can be done by reviewing user permissions in the Cognos Analytics Administration > Security section, or by browsing the Cognos Analytics home page for Exploration tiles and reports.
    Affected if Explorations functionality is available and users have access to create or view explorations.
  3. Inspect existing explorations for custom column headings
    Open the Cognos Analytics portal, navigate to the Explore section, and examine any existing explorations. Review the column headings defined in each exploration by opening the exploration in edit mode to view the column definitions.
    Affected if Column headings have been customized or modified from default values, particularly with user-supplied text.
  4. Review recent exploration creation or modification activity
    Check the Cognos Analytics audit logs or the Content Manager database for recent explorations. Examine who created or modified explorations and whether any column headings were added recently.
    Affected if Explorations were created or modified by users, especially those with elevated privileges or external access.

You are affected if IBM Cognos Analytics version is 11.2.0-11.2.4 or 12.0.0-12.0.3 AND Cognos Explorations with potentially custom column headings are accessible to users.

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 a release after 12.0.3
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied patches for CVE-2024-25042 to upgrade to a fixed version. Until patches are available, implement output encoding for column headings in Cognos Explorations and consider restricting user permissions to minimize exposure.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Cognos Analytics 11.2.5 or later; Cognos Analytics 12.0.4 or later

  1. 1. Review the IBM Cognos Analytics security bulletin for CVE-2024-25042 at the IBM Support Portal (support.ibm.com) or IBM PSIRT blog.
  2. 2. Identify your current installed version of IBM Cognos Analytics (11.2.x or 12.0.x).
  3. 3. For Cognos Analytics 11.2.x: Upgrade to version 11.2.5 or later which contains the security fix for XSS in column heading validation.
  4. 4. For Cognos Analytics 12.0.x: Upgrade to version 12.0.4 or later which contains the security fix for XSS in column heading validation.
  5. 5. After upgrading, verify the fix by testing Cognos Explorations with various column heading inputs to confirm XSS prevention.
  6. 6. Review release notes for any additional security enhancements included in the upgrade.
Caveat Review IBM release notes for potential compatibility changes when upgrading between minor versions; test in non-production environment first

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
  • 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-2024-25042 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