CVE-2011-1218
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 kvarcve.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 .zip attachment, aka SPR PRAD8E3NSP. NOTE: some of these details are obtained from third party information.
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 kvarcve.dll, a component of Autonomy KeyView parsing library, allows remote code execution when IBM Lotus Notes processes a maliciously crafted .zip attachment. The overflow occurs during attachment parsing, enabling attackers to inject and execute arbitrary code on the targeted system.
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<= 8.5.2.2= 3.0= 3.0.0.1= 3.0.0.2= 4.2= 4.2.1= 4.2.2= 4.5= 4.6= 4.6.7a= 4.6.7h= 5.0CVSS 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 IBM Lotus Notes installationCheck for IBM Lotus Notes installation by searching for 'notes.exe' in typical installation directories such as C:\Program Files\IBM\Lotus\Notes or C:\Lotus\Notes, or use the Windows registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Lotus\Notes to locate the installation path and version.Affected if Lotus Notes is installed and the version matches <= 8.5.2.2, or equals any of 3.0, 3.0.0.1, 3.0.0.2, 4.2, 4.2.1, 4.2.2, 4.5, 4.6, 4.6.7a, 4.6.7h, or 5.0
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Locate kvarcve.dll librarySearch for 'kvarcve.dll' within the Lotus Notes installation directory, typically found in the 'keyview' or 'notes' subdirectory. The full path often resembles C:\Program Files\IBM\Lotus\Notes\kvarcve.dll or C:\Lotus\Notes\kvarcve.dll.Affected if kvarcve.dll exists in the Lotus Notes directory, indicating the vulnerable KeyView parsing component is present
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Verify the vulnerability trigger conditionConfirm that the Lotus Notes email client has the ability to process .zip attachments. This is a default behavior in Lotus Notes but can be verified by checking if the 'zip' file type handler is registered or by examining the Notes.ini configuration file for attachment handling settings.Affected if Lotus Notes is configured to automatically process or preview .zip attachments without user confirmation
The environment is affected if IBM Lotus Notes version is one of the listed vulnerable versions (8.5.2.2 or lower, or any of the specific 3.x, 4.x, or 5.x versions) AND the kvarcve.dll KeyView library is present AND the client processes .zip attachments.
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 · scopedApply IBM Lotus Notes update to version 8.5.2 FP3 or later, which includes the patched Autonomy KeyView library. Until patched, consider blocking or warning on .zip attachments from untrusted sources.
IBM Lotus Notes 8.5.2 Fix Pack 3 (FP3) or later
- 1. Identify current IBM Lotus Notes version by opening the application and checking Help > About IBM Lotus Notes
- 2. Download IBM Lotus Notes 8.5.2 Fix Pack 3 (FP3) or later from IBM Fix Central (https://www.ibm.com/support/fixcentral/)
- 3. Close all running Lotus Notes applications and IBM Domino Designer if open
- 4. Install Lotus Notes 8.5.2 FP3 using the downloaded installer package
- 5. After installation, restart the Lotus Notes client
- 6. Verify the version by checking Help > About IBM Lotus Notes - it should show 8.5.2 FP3 or higher
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-1218 — 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-2011-1218 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