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CVE Record

CVE-2020-4377: IBM Cognos Anaytics 11.0 and 11.1 is vulnerable to an XML External Entity Injection (XXE) attack when proce...

IBM Cognos Anaytics 11.0 and 11.1 is vulnerable to an XML External Entity Injection (XXE) attack when processing XML data. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to expose sensitive information or consume memory resources. IBM X-Force ID: 179156.

HighCVSS 8.2Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysishigh

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

IBM Cognos Analytics 11.0 and 11.1 can mishandle XML data. A remote attacker could use this to expose sensitive information or consume memory resources. Treat this as high priority where Cognos is internet-accessible or processes XML from untrusted sources.

Executive priority

High. This affects business intelligence infrastructure and can expose sensitive information without authentication. Prioritize owned Cognos instances, confirm vendor remediation, and reduce exposure for any system reachable from untrusted networks.

Technical view

The vulnerability is an XML External Entity Injection issue in IBM Cognos Analytics 11.0 and 11.1. The CVSS 3.0 score is 8.2, with network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, and no user interaction. Impact is high confidentiality loss and low availability loss; integrity impact is not reported.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely in IBM Cognos Analytics 11.0 or 11.1 deployments that accept or process XML data, especially if reachable by untrusted networks or users. The source bundle does not identify specific endpoints, configurations, or deployment patterns.

Exploitation context

The CVE describes a remote unauthenticated attack path, but the provided sources do not show active exploitation. The CVE is not marked as CISA KEV in the bundle. IBM X-Force tracks it as ID 179156.

Researcher notes

The provided data supports XXE, remote reachability, no required privileges, and confidentiality plus availability impact. It does not provide exploit details, affected endpoints, fixed version names, or confirmed exploitation. Avoid assuming broader IBM products are affected.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory IBM Cognos Analytics 11.0 and 11.1 deployments.
  • Review IBM's advisory for official fixed levels and vendor guidance.
  • Prioritize remediation for internet-facing or untrusted-user-accessible instances.
  • Reduce untrusted network access until vendor guidance is applied.
  • Monitor Cognos hosts for memory pressure and suspicious XML processing activity.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm installed Cognos Analytics versions against the affected 11.0 and 11.1 ranges.
  • Check whether Cognos interfaces process XML from untrusted sources.
  • Verify remediation status against IBM's advisory, not inferred version assumptions.
  • Review logs for abnormal XML errors, outbound requests, or resource exhaustion.
  • Document compensating controls if immediate remediation is not possible.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
4

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

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CVE-2020-4377 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
High
CVSS
8.2 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.0/C:H/AC:L/PR:N/AV:N/I:N/S:U/UI:N/A:L/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
3Source 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
8.2CVSS 3.0HighCVSS:3.0/C:H/AC:L/PR:N/AV:N/I:N/S:U/UI:N/A:L/RC:C/E:U/RL:O3.94.2Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

8.2High
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2020-4377Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/C:H/AC:L/PR:N/AV:N/I:N/S:U/UI:N/A:L/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 Analytics11.0, 11.1Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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