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Cognos AnalyticsApplication · Ibm

CVE-2025-36126

HIGH · 7.6 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-26
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 12.1.2 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable

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, 12.0, and 12.1.0 and IBM Cognos Transformer 12.0, 11.2.4, and 12.1.0 is vulnerable to stored cross-site scripting (XSS) in Cognos Adminstration. This vulnerability allows a privileged user to embed arbitrary JavaScript code in the Web UI thus altering the intended functionality potentially leading to credentials disclosure within a trusted session.

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

A stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM Cognos Analytics and Transformer administration interfaces allows authenticated privileged users to inject malicious JavaScript into web pages. This persisted script executes in the context of other users' sessions, potentially exfiltrating credentials or session tokens.

MitigationApply IBM security patches for affected Cognos versions; implement strict input validation and output encoding on all user-supplied data in administrative interfaces; consider Content Security Policy headers.

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:>= 12.1.0, < 12.1.2= 11.2= 11.2.0= 11.2.1= 11.2.2= 11.2.3= 11.2.4= 12.0.0= 12.0.1= 12.0.2= 12.0.3= 12.0.4
Cognos TransformerApplication
Affected:= 11.2.4= 12.0= 12.1.0

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
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/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 the installed IBM Cognos product
    Locate the Cognos installation directory and check for the installed product name. For Cognos Analytics, look for the analytics installation folder; for Cognos Transformer, look for the transformer folder. Check version.info or similar version file in the installation directory.
    Affected if The product is IBM Cognos Analytics or IBM Cognos Transformer.
  2. Determine the installed version of Cognos Analytics
    Check the version file in the Cognos Analytics installation directory, typically found in the installation folder or via the Cognos Configuration tool. Look for a version file or use the Cognos Administration interface About section.
    Affected if The installed version is 11.2, 11.2.0, 11.2.1, 11.2.2, 11.2.3, 11.2.4, 12.0.0, 12.0.1, 12.0.2, 12.0.3, 12.0.4, or >= 12.1.0 but < 12.1.2.
  3. Determine the installed version of Cognos Transformer
    Check the version file in the Cognos Transformer installation directory, typically found in the installation folder. Look for a version file or check the transformer executable properties.
    Affected if The installed version is 11.2.4, 12.0, or 12.1.0.
  4. Verify the Cognos Administration interface is accessible
    Access the Cognos Administration interface by navigating to the Cognos gateway URL (typically /ibmcognos/admin) and verify the interface loads. Check if the /admin endpoint is available and functional.
    Affected if The Cognos Administration interface is accessible to privileged users.
  5. Confirm user privilege level
    Log into Cognos and check the user permissions. The vulnerability requires a privileged user to inject the malicious script. Verify if the account has administrative or elevated privileges in Cognos.
    Affected if Privileged user accounts exist in the system who could potentially inject malicious content.

You are affected if you have IBM Cognos Analytics version 11.2.x, 12.0.x, or >= 12.1.0 but < 12.1.2, or IBM Cognos Transformer version 11.2.4, 12.0, or 12.1.0, and the Cognos Administration interface is accessible to privileged 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 12.1.2 or later
Fixed in 12.1.2
Interim mitigation

Apply IBM security patches for affected Cognos versions; implement strict input validation and output encoding on all user-supplied data in administrative interfaces; consider Content Security Policy headers.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

IBM Cognos Analytics 12.1.2 or later; IBM Cognos Transformer - contact IBM for patched release

  1. 1. Identify the exact installed version of IBM Cognos Analytics or IBM Cognos Transformer in your environment.
  2. 2. For Cognos Analytics: Upgrade to version 12.1.2 or later to resolve the stored XSS vulnerability in Cognos Administration.
  3. 3. For Cognos Transformer: Contact IBM support or check IBM Fix Central for the equivalent patched release that addresses this vulnerability.
  4. 4. After upgrading, verify the fix by logging into Cognos Administration and confirming that arbitrary JavaScript cannot be embedded in the Web UI.
  5. 5. Clear browser caches and test the updated interface to ensure normal functionality is preserved.
Caveat Review IBM release notes for version 12.1.2 for any configuration or compatibility changes before upgrading

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
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,800
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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-2025-36126 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