# CVE-2020-4300: XML external entity in Cognos Analytics

> Remote attackers can exploit XML External Entity injection in IBM Cognos Analytics to expose sensitive information or cause denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 8.2 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/UI:N/A:L/AC:L/C:H/PR:N/S:U/I:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:C`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 31 May 2021
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-26wp-cf2x-v6xh

## What is CVE-2020-4300?

CVE-2020-4300 is a high-severity vulnerability in Ibm Cognos Analytics, published on 31 May 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

IBM Cognos Analytics 11.0 and 11.1 is vulnerable to an XML External Entity Injection (XXE) attack when processing XML data. A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to expose sensitive information or consume memory resources. IBM X-Force ID: 176607.

Weakness: CWE-611 (Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-4300?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Ibm Cognos Analytics, Netapp Oncommand Insight.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-4300?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-4300 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-4300 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-4300 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Ibm Cognos Analytics

- [CVE-2020-4561](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-4561/): Missing authorization in Cognos Analytics (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2024-51466](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-51466/): IBM Cognos Analytics expression language injection (critical 9.0)
- [CVE-2021-29679](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-29679/): Code injection in Cognos Analytics (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2024-25047](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-25047/): IBM Cognos Analytics log injection (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2018-1721](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-1721/): IBM Cognos Analytics 11.0 and 11.1 is vulnerable to a XML External Entity Injection (XXE) attack when processing XML data. (high 8.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-4300 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-4300 is a high-severity vulnerability in Ibm Cognos Analytics, published on 31 May 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-4300 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Ibm Cognos Analytics. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-4300/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-4300/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-4300
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-4300
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-4300

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-4300/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.