Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
IBM Cognos Controller versions 10.3.0, 10.3.1, 10.4.0, and 10.4.1 may send authorization or session cookies without the Secure flag. If traffic can be intercepted or downgraded, an attacker could obtain sensitive session-related information.
Executive priority
Treat as a low-severity hygiene issue unless Cognos Controller is reachable over insecure networks. Remediate during regular maintenance, but escalate if HTTP access remains enabled.
Technical view
The flaw is an information disclosure issue in cookie handling. Missing Secure attributes allow authorization tokens or session cookies to be transmitted over non-HTTPS channels in some conditions. CVSS 3.0 score is 3.7, with network attack vector and high attack complexity.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to organizations running the listed IBM Cognos Controller versions, especially where users can access the application over cleartext HTTP or through misconfigured proxies.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Practical abuse would depend on a man-in-the-middle position or insecure transport path.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE record, IBM advisory reference, and IBM X-Force entry. No CWE is listed in the bundle. Do not broaden scope beyond the named IBM Cognos Controller versions.
Mitigation direction
- Review IBM's security bulletin for official fixes or workarounds.
- Plan remediation for affected Cognos Controller versions only.
- Require HTTPS for all Cognos Controller access paths.
- Remove or redirect cleartext HTTP access where feasible.
- Confirm session cookies are marked Secure after remediation.
Validation and detection
- Inventory IBM Cognos Controller versions in production and test environments.
- Check application responses for Secure attributes on session cookies.
- Verify users cannot reach Cognos Controller over plain HTTP.
- Review proxy and load balancer settings for HTTPS enforcement.
- Document findings against the affected version list.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CVE-2019-4171 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Low
- CVSS
- 3.7 (3.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.0/UI:N/A:N/AC:H/S:U/AV:N/C:L/I:N/PR:N/RC:C/E:U/RL:O
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.0/UI:N/A:N/AC:H/S:U/AV:N/C:L/I:N/PR:N/RC:C/E:U/RL:O2.21.4Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.0 score
3.7LowVector: CVSS:3.0/UI:N/A:N/AC:H/S:U/AV:N/C:L/I:N/PR:N/RC:C/E:U/RL:O
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/security-bulletin-security-vulnerabilties-exist-ibm-cognos-controllerCVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- ibm-cognos-cve20194171-info-disc (158876)CVE reference · vdb-entry, x_refsource_XF
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.