CVE-2025-1994: IBM Cognos Command Center RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2025-1994 Overview

CVE-2025-1994 is a local code execution vulnerability affecting IBM Cognos Command Center versions 10.2.4.1 and 10.2.5. The flaw stems from the unsafe use of the .NET BinaryFormatter deserialization function within the product. A local authenticated user can craft malicious serialized data to execute arbitrary code on the underlying system. The weakness falls under CWE-242: Use of Inherently Dangerous Function.

Critical Impact
Successful exploitation allows a local attacker with low privileges to execute arbitrary code, compromising confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the host running IBM Cognos Command Center.

Affected Products

IBM Cognos Command Center 10.2.4.1
IBM Cognos Command Center 10.2.5
Deployments on Windows hosts running the affected Cognos Command Center services

Discovery Timeline

2025-08-26 - CVE-2025-1994 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-1994

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in code paths that invoke the .NET BinaryFormatter.Deserialize method on data influenced by a local user. BinaryFormatter reconstructs arbitrary object graphs and invokes constructors, property setters, and callbacks during deserialization. Attackers abuse this behavior with known gadget chains to achieve arbitrary code execution.

Microsoft has formally deprecated BinaryFormatter because it cannot be made safe against untrusted input. Any component that passes attacker-influenced bytes into this API inherits code execution risk. In IBM Cognos Command Center, the deserialization sink is reachable by a locally authenticated user, yielding process-level code execution under the service account.

Root Cause

The root cause is the use of an inherently dangerous function [CWE-242] combined with insecure deserialization of untrusted input. BinaryFormatter does not enforce type filters, so any assembly loaded into the process becomes a candidate for gadget-chain abuse. The vendor advisory published by IBM confirms the unsafe API usage as the underlying defect.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires local access and low privileges. An authenticated user supplies a serialized payload to a Cognos Command Center interface that feeds it into BinaryFormatter. During deserialization, gadget chains such as those in System.Windows.Forms or System.Data trigger method invocations that spawn processes or load code. No user interaction is required, and the exploit executes in the security context of the Cognos Command Center service.

See the IBM Support Page for vendor-provided technical details and remediation guidance.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-1994

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected child processes such as cmd.exe, powershell.exe, or rundll32.exe spawned by the Cognos Command Center service process
New or modified files under the Cognos Command Center installation directory outside of documented update windows
Unusual outbound network connections initiated by the Cognos service account following local user activity
Windows Event Log entries showing process creation with parent-child relationships tied to Cognos binaries

Detection Strategies

Enable Windows process command-line auditing and hunt for Cognos service processes launching interpreters or LOLBins
Monitor .NET runtime telemetry for deserialization exceptions or module loads from unexpected paths inside the Cognos process
Correlate local logon events with subsequent process creation under the Cognos service account to identify abuse by low-privilege users

Monitoring Recommendations

Ingest Windows Security, Sysmon, and application event logs from Cognos Command Center servers into a centralized analytics platform
Alert on integrity changes to Cognos binaries, configuration files, and any DLLs loaded from user-writable directories
Track service account behavior baselines and flag deviations such as new parent-child process trees or scripting engine invocations

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-1994

Immediate Actions Required

Apply the fix referenced in the IBM Support Page for Cognos Command Center 10.2.4.1 and 10.2.5
Restrict local interactive and remote desktop access to Cognos Command Center servers to a minimal set of administrators
Audit and reduce membership of groups that grant local logon rights on hosts running the affected product

Patch Information

IBM has published remediation guidance on its official support portal. Administrators should review the IBM Support Page for the applicable fix pack or upgrade path covering versions 10.2.4.1 and 10.2.5. Apply the vendor-supplied remediation on all affected instances and verify version metadata after installation.

Workarounds

Limit local access to trusted administrators until the vendor remediation is installed
Run the Cognos Command Center service under a least-privilege account with no interactive logon rights
Enforce application allowlisting on Cognos hosts to block execution of unauthorized binaries and interpreters spawned by the service

bash

# Configuration example: restrict local logon on Windows hosts running Cognos Command Center
# Review and tighten the 'Allow log on locally' user right via Group Policy
secedit /export /cfg current.inf
# Edit current.inf: set SeInteractiveLogonRight to only required admin groups
secedit /configure /db secedit.sdb /cfg current.inf /overwrite

# Verify current logon rights
whoami /priv