CVE-2024-25053 is a vulnerability classified under CWE-295 (Improper Certificate Validation) affecting IBM Cognos Analytics versions 11.2.0 through 12.0.2. The issue arises specifically when using the IBM Planning Analytics Data Source Connection, where the product fails to properly validate certificates during communication between the IBM Planning Analytics server and the IBM Cognos Analytics server. This improper validation can be exploited by an attacker positioned in the communication path (man-in-the-middle scenario) to spoof a trusted entity, effectively impersonating one of the servers. The vulnerability does not require any privileges or user interaction, but the attack complexity is high, meaning the attacker must have the capability to intercept and manipulate network traffic between the two servers. The impact is primarily on data integrity, as the attacker could inject or alter data or commands exchanged between the servers, potentially leading to incorrect analytics results or unauthorized actions. Confidentiality and availability are not directly impacted by this vulnerability. No public exploits have been reported yet, but the presence of this flaw in widely used enterprise analytics software presents a significant risk. The CVSS v3.1 score of 5.9 reflects a medium severity, driven by network attack vector, no privileges required, no user interaction, and high attack complexity. The vulnerability affects multiple recent versions of IBM Cognos Analytics, indicating a broad exposure for organizations using these versions in conjunction with IBM Planning Analytics. IBM has not yet published patches at the time of this report, so organizations must rely on compensating controls until updates are available.

For European organizations, the vulnerability poses a risk to the integrity of critical business intelligence and analytics data processed through IBM Cognos Analytics integrated with IBM Planning Analytics. Attackers exploiting this flaw could manipulate data or commands, leading to erroneous business decisions, financial misreporting, or disruption of planning processes. Sectors such as finance, manufacturing, government, and utilities that rely heavily on accurate analytics and planning data are particularly vulnerable. The inability to trust the authenticity of communications between analytics servers could also undermine compliance with data integrity regulations such as GDPR, especially if manipulated data leads to incorrect reporting or decision-making. Although confidentiality and availability are not directly impacted, the integrity compromise can have cascading effects on operational reliability and trust in analytics outputs. The medium severity suggests the threat is significant but requires sophisticated attack conditions, limiting widespread exploitation but not eliminating risk for targeted attacks. Organizations with complex, interconnected analytics environments are at higher risk due to the potential for lateral movement and data manipulation.

1. Monitor IBM’s official security advisories closely and apply patches or updates as soon as they are released to address CVE-2024-25053. 2. Until patches are available, implement strict network segmentation and firewall rules to restrict communication between IBM Planning Analytics and IBM Cognos Analytics servers to trusted network segments only. 3. Employ additional transport layer security measures such as mutual TLS authentication with properly validated certificates to supplement the product’s certificate validation. 4. Use network intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS) to monitor for anomalous or suspicious traffic patterns between the affected servers. 5. Conduct regular audits of certificate configurations and ensure that only valid, trusted certificates are used in the communication channels. 6. Educate system administrators and security teams about the vulnerability and the importance of verifying the integrity of analytics data and server communications. 7. Consider deploying endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions on servers hosting IBM Cognos Analytics and IBM Planning Analytics to detect potential exploitation attempts. 8. Review and tighten access controls and logging around these analytics systems to facilitate rapid detection and response to any suspicious activity.