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Mercury Quality CenterApplication · Hp

CVE-2007-5289

HIGH · 7.6 CVSS v2.0 Published 2009-02-24
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 9.2 or later.
See remediation →
85/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
HP Mercury Quality Center (QC) 9.2 and earlier, and possibly TestDirector, relies on cached client-side scripts to implement "workflow" and decisions about the "capability" of a user, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted use of the Open Test Architecture (OTA) API, as demonstrated by modifying (1) common.tds, (2) defects.tds, (3) manrun.tds, (4) req.tds, (5) testlab.tds, or (6) testplan.tds in %tmp%\TD_80, and then setting the file's properties to read-only.

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 confidence

HP Mercury Quality Center 9.2 and earlier trusts cached client-side workflow scripts (.tds files) in the TD_80 temp directory. Attackers can modify these cached scripts (common.tds, defects.tds, req.tds, testlab.tds, testplan.tds, manrun.tds) and set them to read-only, causing the QC client to execute malicious OTA API code with the user's privileges.

MitigationUpgrade HP Quality Center to a version beyond 9.2 that addresses this vulnerability. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, disable or monitor the %tmp%\TD_80 directory for unauthorized modifications to .tds files and restrict OTA API access through network controls.

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
Mercury Quality CenterApplication
Affected:<= 9.2= 8.0= 8.2= 9.0
TestdirectorApplication
Affected:all versions

CVSS 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
High
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed HP Quality Center or TestDirector version
    Check Add/Remove Programs or the application's About/Help dialog for the exact version number
    Affected if Version is 9.2 or earlier (specifically 8.0, 8.2, 9.0, or 9.2) or the product is HP TestDirector of any version
  2. Locate the TD_80 temp directory
    Search for the TD_80 folder in the user's temporary directory (typically %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Temp\TD_80 or %TMP%\TD_80)
    Affected if The TD_80 directory exists on the system
  3. Enumerate .tds workflow script files
    List all .tds files in the TD_80 directory - specifically look for common.tds, defects.tds, req.tds, testlab.tds, testplan.tds, and manrun.tds
    Affected if Any of these specific .tds files are present in the TD_80 directory
  4. Check .tds file permissions and attributes
    Inspect file attributes on the .tds files - check if the read-only flag is set using 'attrib' command or file properties
    Affected if Any .tds workflow script files have been set to read-only mode, indicating potential tampering
  5. Compare .tds file timestamps to expected workflow deployment times
    Review last modified timestamps on the .tds files using 'dir /T:W' or file properties, compare against known application update cycles
    Affected if File modification timestamps are unexpected, differ from other system files, or show recent changes after the last QC client update

A system is affected if HP Quality Center version 9.2 or earlier (or TestDirector any version) is installed AND the TD_80 directory contains .tds workflow script files that have been modified or set to read-only, suggesting possible malicious alteration.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 9.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade HP Quality Center to a version beyond 9.2 that addresses this vulnerability. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, disable or monitor the %tmp%\TD_80 directory for unauthorized modifications to .tds files and restrict OTA API access through network controls.

Fix this in Mercury Quality Center Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2007-5289 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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