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ControllerApplication · Ibm

CVE-2025-36017

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-12-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.1.2 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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 Controller 11.1.0 through 11.1.1 and IBM Cognos Controller 11.0.0 through 11.0.1 FP6 stores unencrypted sensitive information in environmental variables files which can be obtained by an authenticated user.

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 Controller and IBM Cognos Controller versions store unencrypted sensitive information in environmental variable files. An authenticated user with file system access can obtain these files and read the sensitive data in plaintext.

MitigationEncrypt sensitive data stored in environment variable files or migrate to a secure secrets management solution (e.g., IBM Vault, HashiCorp Vault) to replace plaintext storage of credentials and sensitive configuration data.

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
ControllerApplication
Affected:>= 11.1.0, < 11.1.2

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

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

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify IBM Controller version
    Check the installed version of IBM Controller (or IBM Cognos Controller) by reviewing installation directories, registry entries, or product information files. Common locations include the installation root directory or program files folder.
    Affected if The installed version is greater than or equal to 11.1.0 and less than 11.1.2
  2. Locate environment variable configuration files
    Search for environment variable files used by IBM Controller. These may include configuration files with names like .env, environment.ini, setenv.bat, setenv.sh, or similar files in the application installation directory, config folders, or data directories.
    Affected if Environment variable files exist in the IBM Controller installation or configuration directories
  3. Inspect files for plaintext sensitive data
    Open and review the identified environment variable files. Search for plaintext credentials, passwords, API keys, connection strings, or other sensitive configuration values stored without encryption.
    Affected if The environment variable files contain plaintext sensitive information such as passwords, credentials, or secret keys
  4. Verify authenticated user access to files
    Confirm that an authenticated user with standard file system access can read the environment variable files. Check file permissions to determine if non-admin users can access these files.
    Affected if Authenticated users with file system read access can obtain and view the sensitive data in plaintext

Your environment is affected if IBM Controller version is 11.1.0 or higher but below 11.1.2, and environment variable configuration files contain plaintext sensitive data such as passwords or credentials that are readable by authenticated 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 11.1.2 or later
Fixed in 11.1.2
Interim mitigation

Encrypt sensitive data stored in environment variable files or migrate to a secure secrets management solution (e.g., IBM Vault, HashiCorp Vault) to replace plaintext storage of credentials and sensitive configuration data.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

11.1.2

  1. Identify all IBM Controller installations running version 11.1.0 or 11.1.1 in the environment
  2. Review IBM support portal for the 11.1.2 release notes and upgrade prerequisites
  3. Back up the current IBM Controller installation and database
  4. Upgrade IBM Controller to version 11.1.2 or later
  5. After upgrade, verify that environment variable files no longer contain unencrypted sensitive information

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

Fix this in Controller Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation24.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
52.0 hours of engineering $9,160
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $14,656.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2025-36017 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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