CVE-2021-39009

Credential disclosure via plaintext password logging

Published Sep 1, 2022 · Updated Sep 17, 2024

Cleartext credential storage in IBM Cognos Analytics 11.1.7, 11.2.0, and 11.2.1 allows local users to read passwords from log files. The product writes user passwords without encryption or masking into application logs instead of excluding or protecting the credential values. Reading the stored credentials requires privileged local access to a Cognos Analytics server, and the reported consequence is credential disclosure only.

CVSS severity4.4
Medium
EPSS probability0.18%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Cleartext credential storage in IBM Cognos Analytics 11.1.7, 11.2.0, and 11.2.1 allows local users to read passwords from log files. The product writes user passwords without encryption or masking into application logs instead of excluding or protecting the credential values. Reading the stored credentials requires privileged local access to a Cognos Analytics server, and the reported consequence is credential disclosure only.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-39009
Published
Sep 1, 2022
Updated
Sep 17, 2024
Vendor
IBM
Product
Cognos Analytics
Classifications
CWE-312, T1552.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 1, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 17, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=11.1.7
  2. Affected versionversion=11.2.0
  3. Affected versionversion=11.2.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

IBM · Cognos Analyticsversion=11.1.7; version=11.2.0; version=11.2.1

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
4.4IBM CorporationCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-312Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information
T1552.001Unsecured Credentials: Credentials In Files

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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