CVE-2016-5932
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 · uneditedIBM Connections 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, and 5.5 is vulnerable to cross-site scripting. This vulnerability allows users to embed arbitrary JavaScript code in the Web UI thus altering the intended functionality potentially leading to credentials disclosure within a trusted session. IBM Reference #: 1998294.
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 confidenceIBM Connections versions 4.0 through 5.5 contain a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability that allows authenticated users to embed arbitrary JavaScript code into the web interface. This malicious script executes in the browsers of other users viewing the affected content, potentially enabling credential disclosure or session hijacking within trusted sessions.
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= 4.0= 4.5= 5.0= 5.5.0.0CVSS 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
- 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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Verify IBM Connections installationLocate IBM Connections installation directory or check system services for IBM Connections processesAffected if IBM Connections is installed and running in the environment
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Determine installed IBM Connections versionCheck version information through IBM Connections admin console, version.info file, or installed packages/features listingAffected if The installed version matches exactly 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, or 5.5.0.0
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Confirm user authentication feature is enabledVerify that IBM Connections user authentication and user profiles module is active, as the XSS requires authenticated users to inject malicious scriptsAffected if User authentication and profiles module is enabled and users can create or modify content
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Identify input fields vulnerable to stored contentReview IBM Connections user-generated content areas such as status updates, profile fields, forums, wikis, or file descriptions where users can input custom textAffected if Content creation or editing features are accessible to authenticated users without proper output encoding
Your environment is affected if IBM Connections versions 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, or 5.5.0.0 are installed and user authentication with content creation capabilities is enabled.
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 dataApply IBM Connections security updates and fix packs per IBM Security Bulletin 1998294 to address the XSS vulnerability. Additionally, implement output encoding and input validation on affected user input fields as a defense-in-depth measure.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation16.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $8,960.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-5932 — 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-2016-5932 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