CVE-2016-5880 in iNotes
Summary
by MITRE
IBM iNotes is vulnerable to cross-site scripting. This vulnerability allows users to embed arbitrary JavaScript code in the Web UI thus altering the intended functionality potentially leading to credentials disclosure within a trusted session.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/15/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-5880 affects IBM iNotes, a web-based email and collaboration application that forms part of IBM Domino server suite. This cross-site scripting vulnerability represents a critical security flaw that undermines the integrity of the web interface and exposes users to potential credential theft. The flaw exists within the application's handling of user input in web forms and interface elements, creating an avenue for malicious actors to inject malicious JavaScript code into the application's response. IBM iNotes serves as a web client for email, calendar, and collaboration features, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to exploit user sessions and extract sensitive information.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding within the iNotes web interface. When users submit data through web forms or interact with interface elements, the application fails to properly sanitize or encode user-supplied content before rendering it back to the browser. This allows an attacker to craft malicious input containing JavaScript payload that executes in the context of a victim's browser session. The vulnerability specifically manifests when the application processes user-entered text in email messages, calendar entries, or other interactive components, where the lack of proper sanitization enables the execution of arbitrary code. This flaw aligns with CWE-79, which describes cross-site scripting vulnerabilities resulting from inadequate input validation and output encoding.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it enables sophisticated attacks that can compromise user sessions and steal authentication credentials. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to create malicious web pages that appear legitimate to users, potentially leading to session hijacking or credential theft within trusted sessions. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it operates within the context of authenticated users, meaning that successful exploitation could allow attackers to access sensitive email content, calendar data, and other collaborative information. The threat landscape for this vulnerability includes credential stuffing attacks, session hijacking, and data exfiltration operations that can significantly impact enterprise security posture.
Organizations utilizing IBM iNotes should implement immediate mitigations including applying the vendor-provided security patches and updates released to address this vulnerability. The remediation process should involve comprehensive testing of the patched environment to ensure that the fix does not introduce regressions in application functionality. Additional defensive measures include implementing proper input validation at multiple layers of the application architecture, configuring web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious script injection attempts, and establishing robust monitoring for anomalous user behavior patterns. Security teams should also consider implementing content security policies to prevent execution of unauthorized scripts and conduct regular security assessments of web applications to identify similar vulnerabilities. This vulnerability demonstrates the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and implementing defense-in-depth strategies that protect against various attack vectors as outlined in the mitre ATT&CK framework. Organizations should also consider implementing user education programs to raise awareness about social engineering attacks that might exploit this vulnerability.