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CVE Record

CVE-2021-20468: 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: 196825.

MediumCVSS 4.3Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

IBM Cognos Analytics versions 11.1.7, 11.2.0, and 11.2.1 have a CSRF flaw. An attacker could trick a trusted user into causing unauthorized actions in Cognos. The known impact is integrity only, not data disclosure or service outage.

Executive priority

Treat this as a scheduled remediation item, not an emergency, unless Cognos is externally exposed or heavily used for privileged business workflows. Prioritize confirming affected versions and applying IBM guidance during the next controlled maintenance window.

Technical view

CVE-2021-20468 is a network-reachable CSRF issue in IBM Cognos Analytics. CVSS 3.0 score is 4.3 with low attack complexity, required user interaction, no privileges required, unchanged scope, low integrity impact, and no confidentiality or availability impact. IBM X-Force tracks it as 196825.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most relevant where IBM Cognos Analytics 11.1.7, 11.2.0, or 11.2.1 is used by authenticated business users or administrators. Public or broadly reachable Cognos portals increase practical risk because attackers have more paths to lure trusted users.

Exploitation context

The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. The flaw requires user interaction and relies on a website-trusted user initiating malicious unauthorized actions, consistent with CSRF behavior.

Researcher notes

No CWE is listed in the bundle. The vulnerability is characterized as CSRF, mapped to IBM X-Force ID 196825, with CVSS vector CVSS:3.0/AC:L/I:L/AV:N/C:N/A:N/UI:R/S:U/PR:N/RL:O/E:U/RC:C. Fixed-version detail is not included in the provided bundle.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory Cognos Analytics deployments and identify versions 11.1.7, 11.2.0, and 11.2.1.
  • Review IBM advisory 6615285 for the official remediation path and fixed levels.
  • Apply IBM-supported fixes or upgrades after confirming compatibility with Cognos integrations.
  • Limit Cognos access to trusted networks where operationally feasible.
  • Review NetApp advisory applicability if Cognos is present through related environments.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm installed Cognos Analytics version against the affected version list.
  • Verify whether IBM official remediation has been applied for CVE-2021-20468.
  • Review access paths to Cognos, including VPN, SSO, and internet exposure.
  • Check change-management records for Cognos patching after the September 2022 disclosure.
  • Assess whether sensitive administrative actions are reachable by normal authenticated users.
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

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CVE-2021-20468 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
4.3 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

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

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/AV:N/C:N/A:N/UI:R/S:U/PR:N/RL:O/E:U/RC:C2.81.4Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

4.3Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2021-20468Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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

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.