CVE-2014-6169
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 · uneditedCross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM Forms Experience Builder 8.5.0 and 8.5.1 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors. IBM X-Force ID: 97777.
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 confidenceCross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in IBM Forms Experience Builder versions 8.5.0 and 8.5.1 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified user input vectors. This is a classic reflected or stored XSS flaw where the application fails to properly sanitize user-supplied data before rendering it in HTML context.
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= 8.5= 8.5.1CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
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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Confirm IBM Forms Experience Builder is installedCheck for the IBM Forms Experience Builder installation directory or identify the product via your software inventory system. Common installation paths may include IBM WebSphere Application Server directories where Forms is deployed.Affected if IBM Forms Experience Builder software is present on the system
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Identify the installed versionLocate the version information for IBM Forms Experience Builder. This is typically found in the product's about page, version.info file, or through the WebSphere Administration Console if deployed as a WebSphere application.Affected if The installed version is 8.5.0 or 8.5.1 specifically
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Verify the web interface is accessibleDetermine if the IBM Forms Experience Builder web interface is accessible to users or attackers. Check if the application URL is exposed on network ports or through a reverse proxy.Affected if The web interface is reachable and accepts user input
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Test for XSS vulnerability in user input fieldsUsing a web browser or testing tool, submit benign HTML or script payloads (such as <script>alert(1)</script>) into common user input fields within the Forms Experience Builder interface, then inspect if these payloads are rendered as raw HTML or executed.Affected if User-supplied input is reflected back in the response without proper encoding or sanitization
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Review application logs for suspicious activityExamine IBM Forms Experience Builder and WebSphere Application Server logs for any evidence of XSS probe attempts or unusual script injection patterns in request parameters.Affected if Logs show unsanitized input being processed and reflected
Your environment is affected if IBM Forms Experience Builder versions 8.5.0 or 8.5.1 are installed and the web interface is accessible with user input fields that are not properly sanitized before being rendered in HTML output.
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 dataRemediate by implementing proper input validation and output encoding across all user input fields and URL parameters in IBM Forms Experience Builder. Apply context-specific escaping for HTML, JavaScript, and URL attributes, and consider implementing a Content Security Policy (CSP) as a defense-in-depth measure.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-6169 — 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-2014-6169 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
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