CVE-2016-6845
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 · uneditedAn issue was discovered in Open-Xchange OX App Suite before 7.8.2-rev8. Script code within hyperlinks at HTML E-Mails is not getting correctly sanitized when using base64 encoded "data" resources. This allows an attacker to provide hyperlinks that may execute script code instead of directing to a proper location. Malicious script code can be executed within a user's context. This can lead to session hijacking or triggering unwanted actions via the web interface (sending mail, deleting data etc.).
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 confidenceCross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Open-Xchange OX App Suite email handling. The application fails to properly sanitize script code within hyperlinks that use base64 encoded data URIs in HTML emails, allowing attackers to embed malicious JavaScript that executes in the victim's session 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<= 7.8.2CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 OX App Suite installationIdentify whether Open-Xchange OX App Suite is installed on the system by checking for the product directories, services, or using package management tools (e.g., rpm -qa | grep -i ox, dpkg -l | grep -i ox)Affected if The product is not found on the system, then this CVE does not apply
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Determine installed OX App Suite versionRetrieve the installed version using the package manager or OX-specific administration tools (e.g., rpm -qa | grep appsuite, or consult the OX administration interface for version information)Affected if The installed version is 7.8.2 or any version lower than 7.8.2, indicating the system falls within the affected range
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Verify email module is activeConfirm that the OX email module is enabled and in use by checking the OX configuration or user access to the mail component through the admin interface or configuration filesAffected if The email module is enabled, as the vulnerability resides in the email handling functionality specifically
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Check for HTML email processingDetermine if HTML email rendering is active, which is typically the default setting in OX App Suite for the webmail componentAffected if HTML email processing is enabled, as the vulnerability exploits base64 encoded data URIs within HTML email content
The environment is affected if OX App Suite version 7.8.2 or lower is installed and the email module with HTML processing is active, since the vulnerability allows malicious base64-encoded JavaScript execution through hyperlinks in HTML emails.
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 dataUpgrade to OX App Suite version 7.8.2-rev8 or later which implements proper sanitization of base64 encoded data resources in email hyperlinks.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing10.0 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 $8,928.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-6845 — 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-2016-6845 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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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.
- 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