CVE-2010-2277 in Lotus Connections
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in IBM Lotus Connections 2.5.x before 2.5.0.2 allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via the (1) create or (2) edit form in the Communities component, the (3) verbiage field in the Bookmarks component, or (4) unspecified vectors related to the Mobile Blogs component.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/31/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-2277 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw affecting IBM Lotus Connections 2.5.x versions prior to 2.5.0.2. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, which is a fundamental web application security weakness that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into web pages viewed by other users. The affected IBM Lotus Connections platform is a collaborative software suite designed to facilitate enterprise social networking and document sharing, making it a prime target for exploitation in corporate environments where sensitive business information is exchanged.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through multiple attack vectors within the Lotus Connections application. Attackers can inject malicious scripts through the create and edit forms in the Communities component, where users can create or modify community content without proper input sanitization. Additionally, the Bookmarks component contains a verbiage field that lacks adequate validation, allowing attackers to inject script code that executes when other users view bookmarked content. The Mobile Blogs component also presents unspecified vectors where similar injection attacks can occur, demonstrating the widespread nature of the input validation failures across different application modules. These vulnerabilities arise from insufficient filtering and encoding of user-supplied input before rendering it in web responses.
The operational impact of CVE-2010-2277 extends beyond simple script injection, as it enables attackers to potentially steal session cookies, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of users, or redirect victims to malicious sites. In enterprise environments using Lotus Connections for collaboration, this vulnerability could allow attackers to access sensitive business information, manipulate community content, or compromise user credentials. The attack vectors are particularly dangerous because they target components that are frequently used by employees, making successful exploitation more likely and potentially affecting a large number of users within an organization. The vulnerability could be exploited through social engineering techniques where attackers convince users to click on malicious links or visit compromised pages containing the injected scripts.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided security patch for IBM Lotus Connections 2.5.0.2, which addresses the input validation issues across all affected components. Additionally, implementing proper input sanitization and output encoding measures can provide defense-in-depth protection against similar vulnerabilities. Network monitoring should be enhanced to detect suspicious script injection patterns, and user education regarding the dangers of clicking on untrusted links should be emphasized. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 for phishing and T1059 for command and script injection, demonstrating how such flaws can enable broader attack chains. Regular security assessments and web application firewalls should be deployed to monitor and prevent exploitation attempts, as the vulnerability represents a classic example of insufficient input validation that can be remediated through proper security controls and patch management processes.