LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2020-4301: IBM Cognos Analytics 11.1.7, 11.2.0, and 11.2.1 is vulnerable to cross-site request forgery which could all...

IBM Cognos Analytics 11.1.7, 11.2.0, and 11.2.1 is vulnerable to cross-site request forgery which could allow an attacker to execute malicious and unauthorized actions transmitted from a user that the website trusts. IBM X-Force ID: 176609.

MediumCVSS 4.3Not KEV-listedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This flaw lets an attacker trick a trusted Cognos Analytics user’s browser into sending unauthorized actions. It does not expose data directly in the CVE record, but it can affect integrity of actions performed in IBM Cognos Analytics 11.1.7, 11.2.0, and 11.2.1.

Executive priority

Treat this as a moderate-priority integrity risk. It is not reported as actively exploited in the provided sources, but affected Cognos instances should be remediated through IBM guidance, especially where privileged users access the service.

Technical view

CVE-2020-4301 is a cross-site request forgery issue in IBM Cognos Analytics. The CVSS 3.0 score is 4.3 with network access, low attack complexity, required user interaction, no privileges, and low integrity impact. The CVSS temporal vector indicates exploit code is unproven and official remediation exists.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely in organizations still running IBM Cognos Analytics 11.1.7, 11.2.0, or 11.2.1. Risk is higher where the Cognos web interface is reachable by many users or externally accessible.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not show KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. The issue requires user interaction and relies on actions being accepted from a browser session trusted by Cognos Analytics.

Researcher notes

Evidence identifies affected versions and CSRF behavior, but the prompt bundle does not include IBM’s detailed fix instructions. Avoid assuming specific endpoints, actions, or exploitability beyond the CVE description and CVSS vector.

Mitigation direction

  • Check IBM advisory 6615285 for the official remediation path.
  • Upgrade or patch affected Cognos Analytics versions according to IBM guidance.
  • Review NetApp advisory relevance if Cognos is present through supported NetApp offerings.
  • Limit Cognos web access to trusted networks and authenticated users.
  • Educate privileged Cognos users about unsolicited links and browser-session risks.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Cognos Analytics versions across production, staging, and legacy hosts.
  • Confirm whether any instance is version 11.1.7, 11.2.0, or 11.2.1.
  • Verify IBM-recommended fixes or upgrades are applied.
  • Review access logs for unusual state-changing actions by authenticated users.
  • Confirm compensating access restrictions are active where patching is delayed.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
5

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

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 · low confidence lookup

CVE-2020-4301 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
4.3 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AC:L/I:L/C:N/AV:N/UI:R/A:N/S:U/PR:N/RC:C/E:U/RL:O

Official CVE source material

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.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
4Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We 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.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
4.3CVSS 3.0MediumCVSS:3.0/AC:L/I:L/C:N/AV:N/UI:R/A:N/S:U/PR:N/RC:C/E:U/RL:O2.81.4Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

4.3Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2020-4301Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AC:L/I:L/C:N/AV:N/UI:R/A:N/S:U/PR:N/RC:C/E:U/RL:O

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
IBMCognos Analytics11.2.0, 11.1.7, 11.2.1Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.