CVE-2016-5981
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 FileNet Workplace XT through 1.1.5.2-WPXT-LA011 and FileNet Workplace (Application Engine) through 4.0.2.14-P8AE-IF001, when RegExpSecurityFilter and ScriptSecurityFilter are misconfigured, allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors.
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 confidenceThis is a stored or reflected XSS vulnerability in IBM FileNet Workplace XT and FileNet Workplace (Application Engine) caused by misconfiguration of RegExpSecurityFilter and ScriptSecurityFilter. Attackers can inject malicious scripts through unspecified vectors when these security filters are improperly configured, allowing execution of arbitrary HTML or JavaScript in victim browsers.
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<= 4.0.2.14-p8ae-if001<= 1.1.5.2-wpxt-la011CVSS 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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Identify the installed version of IBM FileNet Workplace or Workplace XTLocate the version information in the application's about page, deployment descriptor, or version file included with the installationAffected if The installed version is 4.0.2.14-p8ae-if001 or lower for Workplace, or 1.1.5.2-wpxt-la011 or lower for Workplace XT
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Locate the RegExpSecurityFilter configurationSearch for RegExpSecurityFilter configuration in the application's security configuration files, typically found in deployment descriptors or security XML filesAffected if The RegExpSecurityFilter is present but allows unrestricted input patterns without proper validation rules for special characters and script tags
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Locate the ScriptSecurityFilter configurationSearch for ScriptSecurityFilter configuration in the application's security configuration files, typically found in deployment descriptors or security XML filesAffected if The ScriptSecurityFilter is present but is misconfigured to permit potentially malicious script content in user inputs
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Verify if the application accepts and displays user-supplied inputTest the application's input fields and parameters to determine if user data is reflected in responses without sanitizationAffected if User-supplied input is reflected in HTML responses without proper encoding or validation, and the security filters are not configured to block script injection attempts
A user is affected if they are running IBM FileNet Workplace at version 4.0.2.14-p8ae-if001 or lower, or Workplace XT at version 1.1.5.2-wpxt-la011 or lower, AND the RegExpSecurityFilter or ScriptSecurityFilter are improperly configured to allow unsanitized input.
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 dataConfigure RegExpSecurityFilter and ScriptSecurityFilter according to IBM's security guidelines to properly sanitize and validate input. Restrict these filters to allow only expected characters and patterns in user-supplied data.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 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 $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-5981 — 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-2016-5981 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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