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Lotus NotesApplication · Ibm

CVE-2011-1215

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2011-05-31
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 8.5.2.2 or later.
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
Stack-based buffer overflow in mw8sr.dll in Autonomy KeyView, as used in IBM Lotus Notes before 8.5.2 FP3, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted link in a Microsoft Office document attachment, aka SPR PRAD8823ND.

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

Stack-based buffer overflow in mw8sr.dll (Autonomy KeyView) in IBM Lotus Notes versions before 8.5.2 FP3 allows remote code execution via crafted links embedded in Microsoft Office document attachments. The vulnerability is triggered during parsing of the attachment, enabling attackers to overwrite stack memory and execute arbitrary code.

MitigationUpgrade IBM Lotus Notes to version 8.5.2 FP3 or later. Until patched, avoid opening untrusted Office document attachments from unknown sources in Lotus Notes.

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
Lotus NotesApplication
Affected:<= 8.5.2.2= 7.0= 7.0.0= 7.0.1= 7.0.1.1= 7.0.2= 7.0.2.1= 7.0.2.2= 7.0.2.3= 7.0.3= 7.0.3.1= 7.0.4

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
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 checks

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

  1. Determine installed IBM Lotus Notes version
    Open IBM Lotus Notes, go to Help > About IBM Lotus Notes, or run 'nsd -version' from the Notes program directory. Alternatively, check the install directory for a version file or check Add/Remove Programs.
    Affected if The version is 7.0.x (any variant), 8.5.x through 8.5.2.2, or any version earlier than 8.5.2 FP3
  2. Locate the mw8sr.dll file
    Search for mw8sr.dll in the Lotus Notes program directory, typically under the 'notes' or 'os\win32' subdirectory. Common paths include C:\Program Files\IBM\Lotus\Notes\ or C:\Lotus\Notes\.
    Affected if The file exists in the installation directory, indicating Autonomy KeyView parsing is present
  3. Check mw8sr.dll file version
    Right-click mw8sr.dll, select Properties, then view the Details tab for the File Version. Alternatively, use PowerShell: (Get-Item 'C:\Program Files\IBM\Lotus\Notes\mw8sr.dll').VersionInfo
    Affected if The file version is present and matches versions shipped with vulnerable Lotus Notes releases (7.0.x through 8.5.2.2)
  4. Confirm attachment handling is enabled
    In Lotus Notes, go to File > Preferences > Trust Settings, or check the Notes.ini configuration file for values related to attachment preview or KeyView (search for 'KeyView' or 'attachment').
    Affected if Attachment preview or automatic parsing of Office attachments is enabled, which triggers the vulnerable code path

You are affected if IBM Lotus Notes is version 7.0.x through 8.5.2.2 (or any version before 8.5.2 FP3) and the mw8sr.dll file is present with attachment parsing enabled.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 8.5.2.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade IBM Lotus Notes to version 8.5.2 FP3 or later. Until patched, avoid opening untrusted Office document attachments from unknown sources in Lotus Notes.

Recommended fix High confidence

IBM Lotus Notes 8.5.2 FP3 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current IBM Lotus Notes version installed by checking About Lotus Notes in the application help menu
  2. 2. If running version 7.0, 7.0.0, 7.0.1, or any version <= 8.5.2.2, plan for an upgrade to a fixed release
  3. 3. Download IBM Lotus Notes 8.5.2 FP3 (Fix Pack 3) or later from IBM Fix Central (https://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral)
  4. 4. Ensure all users close Lotus Notes before initiating the upgrade
  5. 5. Run the installer with appropriate administrator privileges
  6. 6. After installation, verify the version by checking Help > About Lotus Notes shows 8.5.2 FP3 or higher
  7. 7. Test that Microsoft Office document attachments open correctly to confirm KeyView functionality is restored
Caveat Users on legacy 7.x versions may need to migrate mail files and preferences; some older plugins or custom templates may require compatibility testing

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

Fix this in Lotus Notes Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2011-1215 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
  • 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