CVE-2007-6706
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 · uneditedUnspecified vulnerability in nlnotes.dll in the client in IBM Lotus Notes 6.5, 7.0.x before 7.0.2 CCH or 7.0.3, and possibly 8.0 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted text in an e-mail message sent over SMTP.
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 · moderate confidenceA vulnerability in nlnotes.dll in IBM Lotus Notes client versions 6.5, 7.0.x before 7.0.2 CCH or 7.0.3, and possibly 8.0 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted text in an email message delivered over SMTP. The vulnerability is in the email parsing component and can be triggered without user interaction beyond receiving the email.
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<= 7.0.2= 6.5= 8.0CVSS 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
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:M/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if IBM Lotus Notes client is installedCheck the system for Lotus Notes installation directories (typically under Program Files\Lotus\Notes or Program Files\IBM\Lotus\Notes) or look for the nlnotes.exe process running on the system.Affected if IBM Lotus Notes client is found on the system.
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Determine the installed Lotus Notes versionLocate the notes.ini file in the Lotus Notes installation directory or check the Windows registry under HKLM\Software\Lotus\Notes or HKLM\Software\IBM\Lotus\Notes for the Version value. Alternatively, right-click on nlnotes.dll in the installation folder, select Properties, and view the File Version tab.Affected if The installed version is 6.5, 7.0.x before 7.0.2 CCH, 7.0.3, or 8.0.
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Verify the nlnotes.dll file versionNavigate to the Lotus Notes installation directory, right-click on nlnotes.dll, select Properties, and record the File Version number shown.Affected if The nlnotes.dll version corresponds to an affected Lotus Notes version (6.5, 7.0.x before 7.0.2 CCH or 7.0.3, or 8.0).
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Confirm SMTP email receipt capabilityDetermine if the Lotus Notes client is configured to receive email over SMTP (IMAP/POP3) by checking the Notes client location document or server configuration, or verify the system processes inbound SMTP connections.Affected if The Lotus Notes client is configured to receive external SMTP email messages.
A user is affected if IBM Lotus Notes client version 6.5, 7.0.x before 7.0.2 CCH or 7.0.3, or 8.0 is installed and configured to receive SMTP email, as the vulnerability in nlnotes.dll can be exploited by crafted text in received emails without user interaction.
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.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade IBM Lotus Notes client to version 7.0.2 CCH, 7.0.3, or later. Alternatively, consider blocking or filtering external SMTP email at the gateway to reduce exposure until clients can be upgraded.
Lotus Notes 7.0.3 or later
- 1. Verify current IBM Lotus Notes version by opening the client and checking About Lotus Notes from the Help menu
- 2. If running version 6.5, 7.0.x before 7.0.2 CCH, or 8.0, plan for upgrade to a fixed release
- 3. Obtain the IBM Lotus Notes 7.0.3 or later installer from official IBM channels (IBM Fix Central or authorized distribution)
- 4. Backup all local Lotus Notes data and configuration files before proceeding
- 5. Uninstall the current Lotus Notes client installation
- 6. Install Lotus Notes 7.0.3 or later version
- 7. Restore configuration from backup and verify client functionality
- 8. Test email processing with various message types to confirm the vulnerability is remediated
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2007-6706 — 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-2007-6706 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data