In an era where organizations rely heavily on data analytics solutions to make informed decisions and drive their businesses, IBM Cognos Analytics is one of the leading players in providing powerful data analytics solutions. However, a recent security vulnerability was discovered in the IBM Cognos Analytics Mobile Server, which could result in a Denial of Service (DoS) attack. This vulnerability, assigned the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) identifier CVE-2022-34357, affects versions 11.1.7, 11.2.4, and 12.. of IBM Cognos Analytics Mobile Server.

The vulnerability occurs due to the weak implementation or absence of rate limiting in the affected server versions. Rate limiting is an essential security measure that restricts the number of requests a user can make to the server within a specific time frame. By making an unlimited number of HTTP requests to the vulnerable server, an attacker can exhaust the server resources, thereby making the service unavailable to other legitimate users. This situation is commonly referred to as a Denial of Service attack.

The specific vulnerability was first identified by the IBM X-Force Team, which is responsible for researching and monitoring security vulnerabilities in IBM products and the wider technology ecosystem. They have assigned this vulnerability the X-Force ID of 230510.

Here is a code snippet that demonstrates how an attacker could potentially exploit this vulnerability by initiating multiple HTTP requests to the vulnerable server:

import requests
import threading

def make_request(url):
    while True:
        requests.get(url)

url = 'http://vulnerable-server.example.com/';

for _ in range(100):
    t = threading.Thread(target=make_request, args=(url,))
    t.start()

This Python script uses the requests library to continuously send GET requests to the vulnerable server's URL using multiple threads. This could lead to a quick exhaustion of the server's resources, causing a Denial of Service condition.

To mitigate this vulnerability, IBM recommends that users upgrade to a fixed and secure version of IBM Cognos Analytics Mobile Server. The details of the security patch and the download link for the fixed version can be found in the original security advisory published by IBM:

- IBM Security Bulletin: Vulnerability in IBM Cognos Analytics Mobile Server related to CVE-2022-34357

Upon upgrading to the appropriate fixed version, the rate limiting issue will be resolved, strengthening the security posture of the affected product and making it resilient to such attacks in the future.

In conclusion, CVE-2022-34357 demonstrates the importance of robust security measures, such as rate limiting, for preventing Denial of Service attacks on data analytics servers like IBM Cognos Analytics Mobile Server. Users are encouraged to stay up-to-date with the latest security advisories and apply patches promptly to protect against such vulnerabilities.

Timeline

Published on: 02/26/2024 16:27:45 UTC
Last modified on: 06/21/2024 19:15:23 UTC