CVE-2025-36107 is a medium severity vulnerability identified in IBM Cognos Analytics Mobile for iOS versions 1.1.0 through 1.1.22. The vulnerability stems from the cleartext transmission of sensitive information, classified under CWE-319 (Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information). This means that data exchanged between the mobile application and backend services is not properly encrypted, allowing potential attackers to intercept and obtain sensitive information during transmission. The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.9, reflecting a network attack vector (AV:N) with high attack complexity (AC:H), no privileges required (PR:N), and no user interaction needed (UI:N). The scope is unchanged (S:U), and the impact is high on confidentiality (C:H), with no impact on integrity (I:N) or availability (A:N). Since the vulnerability does not require authentication or user interaction, an attacker positioned on the same network (e.g., public Wi-Fi or compromised network segment) could perform passive eavesdropping or man-in-the-middle attacks to capture sensitive data transmitted by the mobile app. The lack of encryption or inadequate encryption mechanisms in the communication channel exposes sensitive business intelligence data, user credentials, or session tokens to interception. IBM Cognos Analytics Mobile is a widely used business intelligence tool that allows users to access reports and analytics on mobile devices, making the confidentiality of transmitted data critical. The absence of a patch link indicates that remediation may still be pending or that users need to upgrade to a fixed version once available. Organizations relying on this mobile app for accessing sensitive analytics data are at risk of data leakage through network interception attacks.

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability could be significant, especially for enterprises handling sensitive or regulated data such as financial institutions, healthcare providers, and government agencies. The exposure of confidential business intelligence data could lead to competitive disadvantage, regulatory non-compliance (e.g., GDPR breaches due to unauthorized data disclosure), and reputational damage. Since the vulnerability affects mobile users, employees accessing corporate analytics on mobile devices over insecure networks (e.g., public Wi-Fi) are particularly vulnerable. The interception of sensitive information could facilitate further attacks such as credential theft, session hijacking, or targeted espionage. Additionally, organizations in sectors with strict data protection requirements may face legal and financial penalties if sensitive data is compromised. The medium severity rating suggests that while the vulnerability is exploitable, the attack complexity is high, which may limit widespread exploitation but does not eliminate risk for high-value targets.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should: 1) Immediately restrict the use of affected IBM Cognos Analytics Mobile versions (1.1.0 through 1.1.22) and monitor for updates or patches from IBM addressing this issue. 2) Enforce the use of secure communication protocols such as TLS 1.2 or higher with strong cipher suites for all mobile app communications. 3) Implement network-level protections including VPN usage for mobile users accessing corporate resources over untrusted networks to ensure encryption of data in transit. 4) Conduct network traffic analysis to detect any unencrypted transmissions from the mobile app and block or alert on suspicious activity. 5) Educate users on the risks of using public or unsecured Wi-Fi networks for accessing sensitive applications. 6) Employ mobile device management (MDM) solutions to enforce security policies, restrict app versions, and remotely disable vulnerable app instances if necessary. 7) Review and enhance logging and monitoring to detect potential interception or man-in-the-middle attack attempts. 8) Collaborate with IBM support channels to obtain timely patches and verify secure configurations once fixes are released.