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Rational ClearquestApplication · Ibm

CVE-2010-4601

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2010-12-29
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Multiple unspecified vulnerabilities in IBM Rational ClearQuest 7.0.x before 7.0.1.11, 7.1.1.x before 7.1.1.4, and 7.1.2.x before 7.1.2.1 allow attackers to have an unknown impact via vectors related to third-party .ocx files.

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 confidence

Multiple unspecified vulnerabilities in IBM Rational ClearQuest allow attackers to execute arbitrary code or have other unknown impacts via third-party .OCX (ActiveX) files. The CVSS score of 10 indicates critical severity, likely involving remote code execution or complete system compromise through malicious ActiveX controls.

MitigationUpgrade IBM Rational ClearQuest to version 7.0.1.11, 7.1.1.4, or 7.1.2.1 or later. As a compensating control, restrict or disable loading of untrusted third-party ActiveX controls and implement application whitelisting.

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
Rational ClearquestApplication
Affected:= 7.0= 7.0.0.0= 7.0.0.1= 7.0.0.2= 7.0.0.3= 7.0.0.4= 7.0.0.5= 7.0.0.6= 7.0.0.7= 7.0.0.8= 7.0.0.9= 7.0.1

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
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/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. Confirm IBM Rational ClearQuest is installed
    Check for ClearQuest installation by looking in the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Rational Software or HKLM\SOFTWARE\IBM\Rational, or look for the ClearQuest executable (cq.exe) in typical installation paths like C:\Program Files\IBM\Rational\ClearQuest or C:\Rational\ClearQuest
    Affected if ClearQuest is found installed on the system
  2. Identify the installed ClearQuest version
    Open ClearQuest and navigate to Help > About, or check the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Rational Software\ClearQuest\CurrentVersion for the Version value, or examine the version property of the cq.exe binary
    Affected if The installed version is 7.0, 7.0.0.0, 7.0.0.1, 7.0.0.2, 7.0.0.3, 7.0.0.4, 7.0.0.5, 7.0.0.6, 7.0.0.7, 7.0.0.8, 7.0.0.9, or 7.0.1 (any version from 7.0 through 7.0.1 inclusive)
  3. Determine if third-party ActiveX controls can be loaded
    Check if the ClearQuest client has the ability to load or register third-party .OCX files, or examine browser/ActiveX settings in the Windows system where ClearQuest is used. Look for permissions that allow loading of untrusted ActiveX controls in Internet Explorer settings or ClearQuest configuration
    Affected if The system allows loading of untrusted third-party ActiveX controls and ClearQuest version is within the affected range

You are affected if IBM Rational ClearQuest version 7.0 through 7.0.1 is installed and the system permits loading of third-party ActiveX controls (.OCX files).

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade IBM Rational ClearQuest to version 7.0.1.11, 7.1.1.4, or 7.1.2.1 or later. As a compensating control, restrict or disable loading of untrusted third-party ActiveX controls and implement application whitelisting.

Recommended fix High confidence

IBM Rational ClearQuest 7.0.1.11 or later in the 7.0.1.x release line

  1. 1. Verify current IBM Rational ClearQuest installation version by checking About in the application or using the Version command-line utility.
  2. 2. Download IBM Rational ClearQuest 7.0.1.11 or later from IBM Fix Central (https://www-01.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/) or your IBM Passport Advantage account.
  3. 3. Ensure all users are logged out of ClearQuest and back up the ClearQuest database and configuration files.
  4. 4. Stop all ClearQuest services including the ClearQuest Web and ClearQuest Rational Directory Server services.
  5. 5. Run the ClearQuest installer and follow the IBM installation wizard to upgrade to version 7.0.1.11 or later.
  6. 6. After installation, verify the upgrade was successful by checking the version in About ClearQuest.
  7. 7. Restart all ClearQuest services and confirm users can connect and authenticate successfully.
Caveat Review IBM Rational ClearQuest 7.0.1.11 release notes for any configuration changes or database schema updates that may require migration steps

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Rational Clearquest Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,760
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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-2010-4601 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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