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Filenet Content ManagerApplication · Ibm

CVE-2018-1556

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-07-06
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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 · unedited
IBM FileNet Content Manager 5.2.1 and 5.5.0 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 X-Force ID: 142893.

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 confidence

IBM FileNet Content Manager 5.2.1 and 5.5.0 contains a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the Web UI. Attackers can embed arbitrary JavaScript code that executes within a trusted user session, potentially leading to credential disclosure.

MitigationApply IBM's security patch for this vulnerability. Until patched, users should avoid clicking untrusted links and administrators should monitor for suspicious session behavior.

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
Filenet Content ManagerApplication
Affected:= 5.2.1= 5.5.0
Content FoundationApplication
Affected:= 5.2.1= 5.5.0

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the installed version of IBM FileNet Content Manager or IBM Content Foundation
    Check the product version through the administration console or by inspecting the installation directory for version metadata. On Windows this may be in the installation path, on Unix check /opt/ibm or the application root for version.info or similar files.
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 5.2.1 or exactly 5.5.0
  2. Confirm the Web UI component is deployed and accessible
    Access the Web UI login page (typically at / Workplace, /WorkplaceXT, or /(FileNet/Engine) depending on deployment) and verify the application responds. Check the application server deployment configuration.
    Affected if The Web UI is accessible and responds to HTTP requests
  3. Verify user session authentication is enabled for the Web UI
    Review the IBM WebSphere or other application server security configuration for the Content Manager web application. Confirm FORM or other authentication mechanism is configured.
    Affected if Users can authenticate and establish trusted sessions through the Web UI
  4. Inspect web access logs for XSS payloads in form submissions
    Review the HTTP server or application server access logs (typically in the WebSphere logs directory) for patterns like <script>, javascript:, onerror=, and other XSS vectors in POST parameters to Web UI endpoints.
    Affected if Malicious JavaScript payloads appear in historical request logs
  5. Check for unauthorized script injection in customizable Web UI fields
    Review the Content Manager database or admin console for any custom Workflow Designer elements, toolbar customizations, or user-defined fields that may contain injected script tags.
    Affected if Arbitrary script tags are present in user-configurable Web UI content

You are affected if you are running exactly version 5.2.1 or 5.5.0 of IBM FileNet Content Manager or IBM Content Foundation with the Web UI enabled and accessible to users.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply IBM's security patch for this vulnerability. Until patched, users should avoid clicking untrusted links and administrators should monitor for suspicious session behavior.

Fix this in Filenet Content Manager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-1556 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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