CVE-2008-2163 in Lotus Quickr
Summary
by MITRE
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM Lotus Quickr 8.1 before Hotfix 5 for Windows and AIX, and before Hotfix 3 for i5/OS, allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unknown vectors related to "WYSIWYG editors."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/19/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2008-2163 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within IBM Lotus Quickr 8.1 software across multiple platform variants. This security weakness specifically targets the WYSIWYG editor components that are integral to the document creation and collaboration features of the platform. The vulnerability affects Windows and AIX systems running pre-Hotfix 5 versions, as well as i5/OS systems before Hotfix 3, indicating a widespread impact across IBM's enterprise collaboration suite. The flaw resides in how the software processes user input within the rich text editing interface, creating an avenue for malicious actors to execute unauthorized code within the context of other users' browsers.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-79, which categorizes cross-site scripting as a code injection flaw where untrusted data is improperly incorporated into web pages without adequate validation or escaping mechanisms. The WYSIWYG editor functionality typically allows users to format text with various HTML elements and styling options, but the implementation fails to properly sanitize or encode user-supplied content before rendering it in the browser. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious input that includes JavaScript code or HTML tags within the editor interface, which then executes when other users view the affected content. This vector of attack demonstrates how rich text editing capabilities can become attack surfaces when proper input sanitization is not implemented.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or defacement, as it enables attackers to potentially hijack user sessions, redirect victims to malicious sites, or extract sensitive information from authenticated sessions. In enterprise environments where Lotus Quickr serves as a collaboration platform, this vulnerability could allow unauthorized individuals to access confidential business documents, compromise user credentials, or disrupt collaborative workflows. The remote nature of the attack means that exploitation does not require physical access to the system or insider knowledge of the internal network structure, making it particularly dangerous for organizations with distributed workforces or remote access capabilities. The vulnerability affects the core functionality of the platform, potentially compromising the integrity of shared documents and collaborative environments.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including applying the relevant hotfixes for their specific platform versions, as these patches would address the input validation issues within the WYSIWYG editor components. Network-level protections such as web application firewalls can provide additional defense in depth, though they may not prevent all exploitation scenarios. Administrators should also consider implementing content security policies that restrict script execution within the application context, and user education regarding the risks of viewing untrusted content within collaborative platforms. The remediation process should include thorough testing of the hotfixes to ensure they do not introduce compatibility issues with existing workflows or custom configurations. Regular vulnerability assessments and security monitoring should be maintained to identify similar weaknesses in other enterprise collaboration tools and web applications that may present similar attack vectors.