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CVE-2021-38905: IBM Cognos Analytics 11.1.7, 11.2.0, and 11.1.7 could allow an authenticated user to view report pages that...

IBM Cognos Analytics 11.1.7, 11.2.0, and 11.1.7 could allow an authenticated user to view report pages that they should not have access to. IBM X-Force ID: 209697.

MediumCVSS 4.3Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2021-38905 is an IBM Cognos Analytics authorization issue. A logged-in user may be able to view report pages they should not access. The business risk is unauthorized exposure of report content, not system takeover, data modification, or service disruption based on the supplied CVSS details.

Executive priority

Schedule remediation in the normal vulnerability cycle, escalating if Cognos contains sensitive financial, customer, legal, or regulated reporting data. The issue requires authentication and has limited CVSS impact, but report exposure can still create meaningful confidentiality and governance risk.

Technical view

IBM reports that Cognos Analytics 11.1.7, 11.2.0, and 11.2.1 are affected. The CVSS 3.0 score is 4.3: network reachable, low complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, and low confidentiality impact only. No CWE is provided in the source bundle.

Likely exposure

Exposure is most likely where IBM Cognos Analytics is deployed with affected versions and multiple authenticated users or roles accessing reports. The issue is especially relevant to environments relying on report-level authorization to separate business units, customers, or sensitive operational data.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited active exploitation. The CVSS vector marks exploit maturity as unproven. Treat this as a plausible authenticated data exposure risk, not evidence of active compromise.

Researcher notes

The evidence supports an authorization bypass or access-control weakness affecting report-page visibility. Exact fixed versions and detailed attack mechanics are not included in the supplied bundle, so validation should stay focused on version exposure, vendor guidance, and permission-boundary testing.

Mitigation direction

  • Check IBM advisory 6570957 for the supported fix or upgrade path.
  • Prioritize affected Cognos Analytics instances with sensitive or regulated report content.
  • Review NetApp advisory guidance if NetApp products or support channels are relevant.
  • Restrict Cognos access to necessary users until remediation is complete.
  • Revalidate report permissions after applying vendor guidance.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Cognos Analytics versions and flag 11.1.7, 11.2.0, and 11.2.1.
  • Map report permissions for sensitive pages and user groups.
  • Use approved low-privileged test accounts to confirm denied reports remain inaccessible.
  • Review access logs for unexpected report-page views by authenticated users.
  • Confirm remediation status against IBM advisory and internal change records.
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-2021-38905 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/I:N/AV:N/PR:L/S:U/AC:L/C:L/UI:N/A:N/RC:C/RL:O/E:U

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/I:N/AV:N/PR:L/S:U/AC:L/C:L/UI:N/A:N/RC:C/RL:O/E:U2.81.4Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.0 score

4.3Medium
CVSS 3.0 vector shape for CVE-2021-38905Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

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

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.