CVE-2007-1941 in Lotus Notes
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Active Content Filter feature in Domino Web Access (DWA) in IBM Lotus Notes before 6.5.6 and 7.x before 7.0.2 FP1 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via a multipart/related e-mail message, a different issue than CVE-2006-4843.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/21/2017
The vulnerability described in CVE-2007-1941 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within IBM Lotus Notes Domino Web Access functionality. This issue specifically targets the Active Content Filter feature that is designed to protect users from malicious web content within email messages. The vulnerability affects IBM Lotus Notes versions prior to 6.5.6 and 7.x versions before 7.0.2 FP1, creating a significant security gap in email client security that could be exploited by remote attackers. The flaw manifests when processing multipart/related email messages, which are commonly used for rich content emails including embedded images and formatted text.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding within the Active Content Filter component of Domino Web Access. When the system processes multipart/related email messages containing malicious script code, the filter fails to properly sanitize or escape special characters that could be interpreted as executable web script. This allows attackers to inject arbitrary HTML and JavaScript code that gets executed in the context of a victim's browser session when they view the malicious email through the Domino Web Access interface. The vulnerability operates through the web-based email access mechanism rather than through direct client-side exploitation, making it particularly dangerous as it can affect users who access their email through web browsers without requiring any client-side software installation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial as it enables attackers to execute malicious code in the context of authenticated user sessions within the Domino Web Access environment. This creates opportunities for session hijacking, credential theft, and data exfiltration from users who access their email through the vulnerable system. The attack vector requires minimal user interaction beyond viewing the malicious email message, making it particularly effective for phishing campaigns and social engineering attacks. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-79 as a Cross-site Scripting flaw, which is categorized as a weakness in input validation and output encoding. From an attack perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for Phishing through email, as it enables the delivery of malicious content that can compromise user sessions and potentially escalate to full system compromise.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should prioritize immediate patching of their Domino Web Access installations to version 6.5.6 or 7.0.2 FP1, as these releases contain the necessary fixes for the Active Content Filter sanitization issues. Network administrators should implement additional monitoring for suspicious email traffic patterns and consider implementing email gateway filtering rules to detect and block multipart/related messages containing potentially malicious content. Security teams should also conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify any other components within their email infrastructure that might be susceptible to similar input validation flaws. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing of the patched systems to ensure that the Active Content Filter functionality operates correctly without introducing new issues that could impact legitimate email content processing.