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Cognos Controller CVE-2020-4685

HIGH
2020-11-11 psirt@us.ibm.com
7.2
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
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Vulnerability Assessment

Impact

CVSS score of 7.2 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, high privileges required, no user interaction not required.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

This vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network. Successful exploitation could compromise the high-severity affected system.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 1.4% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

A low level user of IBM Cognos Controller 10.3.0, 10.3.1, 10.4.0, 10.4.1, and 10.4.2 who has Administration rights to the server where the application is installed, can escalate their privilege from. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available. Apply the latest security update as soon as possible. Apply vendor patches when available. Implement network segmentation and monitoring as interim mitigations.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

A low level user of IBM Cognos Controller 10.3.0, 10.3.1, 10.4.0, 10.4.1, and 10.4.2 who has Administration rights to the server where the application is installed, can escalate their privilege from Low level to Super Admin and gain access to Create/Update/Delete any level of user in Cognos Controller. IBM X-Force ID: 186625. Affected products include: Ibm Cognos Controller.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.2 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
High
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionNVD

A low level user of IBM Cognos Controller 10.3.0, 10.3.1, 10.4.0, 10.4.1, and 10.4.2 who has Administration rights to the server where the application is installed, can escalate their privilege from Low level to Super Admin and gain access to Create/Update/Delete any level of user in Cognos Controller. IBM X-Force ID: 186625.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
1.4%
Top 30% exploitable
Data Quality
2 sources
Confidence: Low

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 1.4%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

37
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +1
CVSS: +36
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.

Affected Products (CPE)NVD

cpe:2.3:a:ibm:cognos_controller:10.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ibm:cognos_controller:10.3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ibm:cognos_controller:10.4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ibm:cognos_controller:10.4.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:a:ibm:cognos_controller:10.4.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
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