CVE-2011-2887 in Lotus Symphony
Summary
by MITRE
IBM Lotus Symphony 3 before FP3 on Linux allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application crash) via a certain sample document.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/30/2017
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-2887 affects IBM Lotus Symphony 3 before Fix Pack 3 on Linux systems, representing a significant denial of service weakness that could be exploited by remote attackers to crash the targeted application. This issue stems from inadequate input validation mechanisms within the document processing functionality of the software, specifically when handling malformed or specially crafted sample documents. The vulnerability manifests as an application crash that occurs during the parsing or rendering of these particular document samples, effectively rendering the Symphony application unavailable to legitimate users and disrupting normal business operations. The flaw demonstrates characteristics consistent with buffer overflow conditions or improper memory handling, where the application fails to properly validate or sanitize incoming document data before processing.
The technical nature of this vulnerability places it within the purview of CWE-125, which describes out-of-bounds read conditions, and CWE-20, which encompasses improper input validation scenarios. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious documents that, when opened or processed by the vulnerable Lotus Symphony version, trigger memory corruption or invalid memory access patterns that cause the application to terminate unexpectedly. The remote exploitation capability means that attackers do not need physical access to the target system, as they can deliver the malicious documents through various network-based attack vectors including email attachments, web downloads, or file sharing platforms. This vulnerability directly impacts the availability aspect of the CIA triad, as it can be used to deny legitimate users access to the document processing capabilities of IBM Lotus Symphony.
The operational impact of CVE-2011-2887 extends beyond simple application disruption, as it can significantly affect business continuity and productivity within organizations that rely on IBM Lotus Symphony for document management and collaboration. When the application crashes due to this vulnerability, users lose access to their document processing capabilities, potentially causing delays in workflow and requiring system administrators to restart services manually. Organizations using Lotus Symphony in mission-critical environments may face substantial operational downtime, particularly in scenarios where multiple users are simultaneously affected by the denial of service condition. The vulnerability also represents a potential entry point for more sophisticated attacks, as attackers might use this initial compromise to establish a foothold for further exploitation attempts or to gather information about the target environment.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should prioritize immediate deployment of IBM's Fix Pack 3, which contains the necessary patches to address the underlying input validation flaws in the document processing engine. System administrators should implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of vulnerable systems to untrusted networks and users, while also deploying intrusion detection systems that can identify and alert on suspicious document handling patterns. The implementation of application whitelisting policies can further reduce risk by restricting execution of only trusted document processing applications. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing automated monitoring and alerting mechanisms to detect application crashes or unexpected restarts that may indicate exploitation attempts. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with techniques categorized under T1499, which involves network disruption attacks, and T1059, covering command and scripting interface techniques, as attackers may attempt to leverage the application crash to establish persistence or escalate privileges within compromised environments.