CVE-2008-1718
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 · uneditedBuffer overflow in mimesr.dll in Autonomy (formerly Verity) KeyView, as used in IBM Lotus Notes before 8.0, might allow user-assisted remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via an e-mail message with a crafted Text mail (MIME) attachment.
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 confidenceBuffer overflow vulnerability in mimesr.dll (Autonomy KeyView library) used by IBM Lotus Notes before version 8.0. The flaw exists in the parsing of MIME Text mail attachments, allowing remote code execution when a user opens a specially crafted attachment.
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 dataall versions= 6.0= 6.5= 7.0= 8.0= 8.0.1CVSS 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.
-
Locate the KeyView library fileSearch for mimesr.dll on the system. Common paths include the Lotus Notes program directory (e.g., C:\Program Files\IBM\Lotus\Notes\) or the KeyView installation folder. Use Windows Search or command: dir /s mimesr.dllAffected if The file exists and its version is earlier than the patched version (any version of mimesr.dll in an unpatched KeyView installation)
-
Check the IBM Lotus Notes versionOpen IBM Lotus Notes, then go to Help > About IBM Lotus Notes, or check the program files version information. Alternatively, check the version in the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Lotus\Notes or in the notes.ini fileAffected if The installed version is 6.0, 6.5, 7.0, 8.0, or 8.0.1 (exact version matches)
-
Verify MIME mail attachment processing is enabledIn Lotus Notes, check if the mail file is configured to allow MIME formatting. Go to Mail Preferences > Mail > MIME Message Format, or inspect the mail database settings. The vulnerability triggers when processing MIME Text attachments in incoming mailAffected if MIME support is enabled (this is the default setting for mail processing in affected versions)
-
Confirm the KeyView library versionRight-click mimesr.dll, select Properties, then view the Details tab to see the File Version. Compare this against known vulnerable versions. The library ships with KeyView and is used for attachment parsingAffected if The KeyView library version shown is any version prior to the vendor patch being applied (the patched library was included in Notes 8.0 and later)
A user is affected if IBM Lotus Notes version 6.0 through 8.0.1 is installed, or an unpatched version of the Autonomy KeyView mimesr.dll library exists, with MIME mail processing enabled (the default configuration).
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 IBM Lotus Notes to version 8.0 or later, which includes the patched KeyView library, or apply vendor-supplied patches for the KeyView component.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-1718 — 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-2008-1718 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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