CVE-2002-0037
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedLotus Domino Servers 5.x, 4.6x, and 4.5x allows attackers to bypass the intended Reader and Author access list for a document's object via a Notes API call (NSFDbReadObject) that directly accesses the object.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceLotus Domino Servers 5.x, 4.6x, and 4.5x contain an access control bypass vulnerability where the Notes API call NSFDbReadObject allows attackers to directly access document objects without enforcing the Reader and Author access list restrictions. This enables unauthorized users to read documents they should not have permission to access.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 4.5= 4.6= 5CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the installed Lotus Domino Server versionCheck the server version through the Domino Administrator client, the server's notes.ini file, or by querying the server's HTTP/DAOS administrative endpoints. Common locations include the Program directory where Domino is installed or checking the 'Server' document in the Domino Directory.Affected if The installed version matches 4.5.x, 4.6.x, or any 5.x release (including 5.0.x through 5.0.x).
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Verify the Domino server is network-accessibleConfirm the server is running and accessible over the network. This can be done by attempting to connect to the Domino server via its HTTP port (typically 80 or 443), LDAP (389/636), or the Notes RPC port (1352). Use network scanning tools or telnet to test connectivity.Affected if The server is accessible over the network and responds to Notes/Domino protocol requests.
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Determine if the NSFDbReadObject API is accessibleThis is a Notes API function that can be called remotely. Check if the Domino server permits direct API calls or if there are custom database applications that utilize this API. Review any custom LotusScript or C API applications deployed on the server that might invoke NSFDbReadObject.Affected if The server hosts databases or applications that invoke the NSFDbReadObject API call without proper ACL enforcement.
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Review database access control lists (ACLs)Examine the Reader and Author fields in the ACL settings of sensitive databases. The vulnerability allows bypassing these restrictions. Check if databases have explicitly defined Reader names/groups or if they rely solely on default ACL settings.Affected if Databases contain sensitive documents with Reader/Author access restrictions that could be bypassed through direct API access.
You are affected if your Lotus Domino Server version is 4.5.x, 4.6.x, or any 5.x release, the server is network-accessible, and it hosts databases with Reader/Author access controls that could be circumvented via the NSFDbReadObject API call.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpgrade to a supported, patched version of Lotus Domino Server. For legacy systems that cannot be upgraded, consider network segmentation to limit exposure and implement additional application-layer access controls.
- Consultation8.0 h
- Implementation24.0 h
- Testing16.0 h
- Review / QA8.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2002-0037 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2002-0037 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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