VulnerabilityPublished 21 Jul 2025Updated 18 Aug 2025

CVE-2025-36106: IBM Cognos Analytics Mobile · Inadequate Encryption Strength

Affects IBM Cognos Analytics MobileSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 09:15 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.5Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 12% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N

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

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: High: A successful attack depends on conditions beyond the attacker's control. That is, a successful attack cannot be accomplished at will, but requires the attacker to invest in some measurable amount of effort in preparation or execution against the vulnerable component before a successful attack can be expected. For example, a successful attack may require an attacker to: gather knowledge about the environment in which the vulnerable target/component exists; prepare the target environment to improve exploit reliability; or inject themselves into the logical network path between the target and the resource requested by the victim in order to read and/or modify network communications (e.g., a man in the middle attack).
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 21 Jul 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
IBM Cognos Analytics Mobile	Affected =1.1.0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

European organizations should urgently audit their deployment of IBM Cognos Analytics Mobile on iOS devices to identify affected versions (1.1.0 through 1.1.22). Until IBM releases an official patch, organizations should implement the following mitigations: 1) Enforce the use of trusted and secure networks (e.g., VPNs) for mobile device connections to reduce exposure to MITM attacks. 2) Employ mobile device management (MDM) solutions to restrict app usage to updated and secure versions once patches are available. 3) Monitor network traffic for unusual patterns indicative of interception or tampering. 4) Educate users about the risks of connecting to unsecured Wi-Fi networks when accessing sensitive analytics data. 5) Engage with IBM support channels to obtain guidance on interim fixes or configuration changes to AFNetworking usage, such as disabling deprecated cryptographic protocols or enforcing certificate pinning if configurable. 6) Review and enhance endpoint security controls on iOS devices, including regular OS updates and security configurations. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on network controls, user behavior, and vendor engagement specific to this vulnerability.

Description

IBM Cognos Analytics Mobile (iOS) 1.1.0 through 1.1.22 could allow malicious actors to view and modify information coming to and from the application which could then be used to access confidential information on the device or network by using a the deprecated or misconfigured AFNetworking library at runtime.

Impact

For European organizations using IBM Cognos Analytics Mobile on iOS devices, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the confidentiality of sensitive business intelligence data accessed via the mobile app. Attackers who can position themselves on the same network (e.g., public Wi-Fi or compromised corporate networks) could intercept and read confidential reports, analytics data, or credentials transmitted by the app. This could lead to unauthorized disclosure of strategic business information, intellectual property, or personally identifiable information (PII). The partial integrity impact means attackers might also alter data in transit, potentially misleading decision-making processes or corrupting analytics results. Although availability is not affected, the breach of confidentiality and integrity could result in regulatory compliance violations under GDPR, financial losses, and reputational damage. The lack of user interaction or authentication requirements increases the attack surface, especially in environments where mobile devices connect to untrusted networks. Given the widespread use of IBM Cognos Analytics in finance, manufacturing, and government sectors across Europe, the vulnerability could have broad implications if exploited.

CWE-326Inadequate Encryption Strength (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessOWASP Top 10 A04:2025: Cryptographic Failures (opens in a new tab)
The product stores or transmits sensitive data using an encryption scheme that is theoretically sound, but is not strong enough for the level of protection required.
Architecture and Design
Use an encryption scheme that is currently considered to be strong by experts in the field.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Cryptographic Storage (opens in a new tab)
Key Management (opens in a new tab)
Transport Layer Protection (opens in a new tab)
User Privacy Protection (opens in a new tab)
Password Storage (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V2.8.3 (opens in a new tab)
V6.2.7 (opens in a new tab)
V6.2.4 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Encryption Brute Forcing (opens in a new tab)
Brute Force (opens in a new tab)
Protocol Analysis (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

ibm.com/support/pages/node/7239635 (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 19 Aug 2025, 01:18 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-326

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats