For many organizations today, analytics platforms are no longer just reporting tools. They sit at the centre of decision-making and strategy. Dashboards inform executives while data models shape revenue forecasts. Security and finance teams all rely on the same pipelines to understand what is happening across the business in real time. And that is precisely what makes them attractive targets.
When a business intelligence system is compromised, attackers are not simply gaining access to one application; they are potentially stepping into the connective tissue of the organization, the place where data, credentials, and system integrations converge.
This reality came into sharp focus during our recent research into Google’s Looker platform, where we uncovered two serious vulnerabilities that, when chained together, could allow attackers to take control of systems or extract sensitive information. We collectively named these issues LookOut. It connects directly to data warehouses, internal databases, and cloud environments, often with broad permissions, enabling it to aggregate information across the business.
That level of access is exactly what makes the platform powerful. It is also what makes it risky.
Internal tools that are perceived as operational or analytical sometimes receive less scrutiny. Yet, these platforms frequently hold deeper access than almost anything else in the environment. If compromised, they can provide attackers with both reach and intelligence.
The “LookOut” vulnerabilities explained
The first vulnerability we identified enables a remote code execution (RCE) chain. In practical terms, this means an attacker could execute arbitrary commands on the underlying host running Looker.
Once code execution is achieved, the attacker is no longer limited to the application itself. They can interact directly with the system, escalate privileges, or move laterally across the network. This is the kind of access security teams often describe as having the “keys to the kingdom.”
The second issue allows the extraction of Looker’s internal management database. While this may sound less dramatic than code execution, it’s concerning. This database can contain configuration details, service accounts, and credentials that govern how Looker communicates with other systems.
To an attacker, that information is a roadmap
It reveals where valuable data lives, how systems authenticate, and which connections may be easiest to abuse. Combined with remote execution, it can dramatically accelerate the path from initial access to full administrative control.
Each flaw poses a risk individually. Together, they create a powerful attack chain that can turn a trusted analytics platform into an enterprise-wide pivot point.
An attacker who can see how dashboards are structured, which metrics leadership tracks, and which systems integrate with which teams can gain insight into how the business operates. That context can inform further attacks, extortion attempts, or targeted disruption.
In other words, these platforms provide both access and intelligence.
As organizations rely more heavily on integrated platforms, those platforms naturally become concentrated points of failure. The more systems a tool connects to, the greater the blast radius if something goes wrong.
That means analytics environments deserve the same attention as traditional security-critical systems. Hardening configurations, limiting privileges, monitoring unusual behaviour and maintaining disciplined patch cycles are no longer optional best practices. They are baseline requirements.
The tools we trust most can also carry the greatest risk. Recognising that reality is the first step toward reducing it.
Liv Matan is Senior Research Engineer at Tenable.
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