CVE-2025-1994
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 Command Center 10.2.4.1 and 10.2.5 could allow a local user to execute arbitrary code on the system due to the use of unsafe use of the BinaryFormatter function.
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 confidenceThis is a .NET deserialization vulnerability in IBM Cognos Command Center where the unsafe use of BinaryFormatter allows a local authenticated user to execute arbitrary code on the system. BinaryFormatter is a well-known dangerous serialization method that can deserialize arbitrary types and trigger code execution during the deserialization process.
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= 10.2.4.1= 10.2.5CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 installed IBM Cognos Command Center versionLocate the installation directory and check the version information file, or run the product's version query command (typically found in the bin folder of the installation path). Compare the reported version against the affected versions: 10.2.4.1 and 10.2.5.Affected if Installed version is exactly 10.2.4.1 or 10.2.5
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Locate serialization configuration filesSearch the IBM Cognos Command Center installation directory for .config files (app.config, web.config) and look for entries containing 'BinaryFormatter' or 'BinaryFormatterSerializer'. Check both the main application directory and any subdirectories containing deployed packages or components.Affected if Configuration files contain BinaryFormatter serialization settings
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Examine deployed assemblies for BinaryFormatter usageInspect the compiled assemblies in the installation bin folder using a .NET decompiler or reflection tool. Search for references to System.Runtime.Serialization.Formatters.Binary.BinaryFormatter or instances where BinaryFormatter is instantiated.Affected if Application code references or instantiates the BinaryFormatter class
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Verify the vulnerable service is runningCheck if the IBM Cognos Command Center service or application pool is running. Identify the process and confirm it is the affected version. Also check if deserialization endpoints are accessible (the CVE mentions local authenticated access is required).Affected if The service is running and accepts authenticated user connections capable of triggering deserialization
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Review audit logs for deserialization activityExamine IBM Cognos Command Center logs and Windows Event Viewer for suspicious deserialization attempts or unusual serialized data being processed. Look for events indicating BinaryFormatter deserialization errors or code execution patterns.Affected if Logs show BinaryFormatter deserialization events or anomalous serialized data processing
User is affected if IBM Cognos Command Center version 10.2.4.1 or 10.2.5 is installed AND the application uses BinaryFormatter for deserialization, allowing a local authenticated user to potentially execute arbitrary code.
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 dataReplace BinaryFormatter with safe serialization alternatives such as System.Text.Json, XmlSerializer, or DataContractSerializer. If upgrade paths are available from IBM, apply the latest patched version. As a workaround, restrict local system access to trusted users only.
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- Review / QA4.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-1994 — 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-2025-1994 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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