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CVE Record

CVE-2021-20470: IBM Cognos Analytics 11.1.7 and 11.2.0 does not require that users should have strong passwords by default,...

IBM Cognos Analytics 11.1.7 and 11.2.0 does not require that users should have strong passwords by default, which makes it easier for attackers to compromise user accounts. IBM X-Force ID: 196339.

MediumCVSS 5.9Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

IBM Cognos Analytics 11.1.7 and 11.2.0 did not require strong passwords by default. That raises the chance that weak user passwords could be guessed or reused, exposing sensitive analytics data. The main business concern is account compromise and confidentiality loss, not system takeover or service disruption.

Executive priority

Treat as a medium-priority identity control issue. Prioritize exposed or sensitive Cognos environments because compromise could disclose business analytics data. This is not described as actively exploited in the provided sources.

Technical view

CVE-2021-20470 is a default password-policy weakness in IBM Cognos Analytics 11.1.7 and 11.2.0. The CVSS 3.0 score is 5.9, with network access, no privileges, no user interaction, high attack complexity, and high confidentiality impact. IBM X-Force tracks it as ID 196339 in the CVE description.

Likely exposure

Exposure is limited to environments running IBM Cognos Analytics 11.1.7 or 11.2.0, especially where local or delegated authentication permits weak passwords. Internet-facing or broadly reachable Cognos portals carry higher business risk.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. CVSS exploit maturity is marked unproven. The vulnerability still matters because weak passwords can enable account compromise through ordinary login paths.

Researcher notes

Evidence is concise and product-specific. The bundle identifies affected versions and CVSS details, but does not include a CWE, detailed root cause, exploit narrative, or explicit fixed version. Avoid expanding scope beyond IBM Cognos Analytics 11.1.7 and 11.2.0.

Mitigation direction

  • Identify all IBM Cognos Analytics 11.1.7 and 11.2.0 deployments.
  • Review and apply IBM’s official advisory guidance for this CVE.
  • Enforce strong password requirements for Cognos users.
  • Use centralized identity controls where available to prevent weak credentials.
  • Monitor Cognos authentication logs for suspicious login activity.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm deployed Cognos Analytics versions against 11.1.7 and 11.2.0.
  • Verify password policy settings reject weak passwords by default.
  • Check whether IBM advisory remediation has been applied.
  • Review authentication logs for repeated failures or unusual access.
  • Confirm exposed Cognos portals require authenticated access only.
Prepared
Confidence
high
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-2021-20470 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Medium
CVSS
5.9 (3.0)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.0/UI:N/S:U/AC:H/I:N/AV:N/A:N/PR:N/C:H/E:U/RL:O/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
5.9CVSS 3.0MediumCVSS:3.0/UI:N/S:U/AC:H/I:N/AV:N/A:N/PR:N/C:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C2.23.6Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

5.9Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2021-20470Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.0/UI:N/S:U/AC:H/I:N/AV:N/A:N/PR:N/C:H/E:U/RL:O/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, 11.1.7Listed
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

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