What is CVE-2021-20493?

CVE-2021-20493 is a medium-severity vulnerability in IBM Cognos Analytics, classified under Cross-site Scripting. CVSS score: 6.1/10. Published 2021-12-03.

How severe is CVE-2021-20493?

Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 6.1 out of 10.

XSS in IBM Cognos Analytics

CVE-2021-20493

IBM Cognos Analytics 11.1.7 and 11.2.0 is vulnerable to cross-site scripting. This vulnerability allows users to embed arbitrary JavaScript code in the Web UI thus altering the intended functionality potentially leading to credentials disclosure within a trusted session. IBM X-Force ID: 197794.

Vulnerability class: XSS (Cross-Site Scripting)

Published 2021-12-03 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 6.1 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.009 (59.2th percentile), scored 2026-10-03.

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 59th percentile — 59.2% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.009 · newest: 0.009 · change: +0.000

Affected products

IBM Cognos Analytics — versions 11.2.0, 11.1.7
IBM Cognos Analytics — versions 11.1.7, 11.2.0
NetApp Oncommand Insight

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-79 — Cross-site Scripting

References

www.ibm.com/support/pages/node/6520510 (Patch, Vendor Advisory)
exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/197794 (VDB Entry, vdb-entry, Vendor Advisory)
security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20211223-0006/ (Third Party Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-20493?: CVE-2021-20493 is a medium-severity vulnerability in IBM Cognos Analytics, classified under Cross-site Scripting. CVSS score: 6.1/10. Published 2021-12-03.
How severe is CVE-2021-20493?: Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 6.1 out of 10.