CVE-2020-14271
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 · uneditedHCL iNotes v9, v10 and v11 is susceptible to a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability due to improper handling of message content. An unauthenticated remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability using specially-crafted markup to execute script in a victim's web browser within the security context of the hosting Web site and/or steal the victim's cookie-based authentication credentials.
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 confidenceHCL iNotes versions 9, 10, and 11 contain a stored XSS vulnerability where improper handling of message content allows specially-crafted markup to persist. When victims view malicious emails, the embedded scripts execute within their browser session, enabling cookie-based authentication theft.
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>= 9.0, < 10.0.1>= 11.0.0, < 11.0.1= 10.0.1= 11.0.1CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/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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Determine installed HCL iNotes versionCheck the Domino server version via 'show server' command in Domino Administrator console, or inspect the iNotes WAR file version in the Domino data directory under workspace\applications\shared\eclipse\plugins (look for files named like 'com.ibm.notes_*.jar' and check version properties).Affected if Installed version falls within 9.0 through 10.0.1, or 11.0.0 through 11.0.1.
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Confirm iNotes is enabledVerify iNotes is deployed by checking the Domino server document in Domino Directory (names.nsf), looking at the 'Internet Protocols' tab for 'HTTP' and confirm iNotes is listed in the 'Server Tasks' or check for 'iNotes' task running on the server via 'show tasks' command.Affected if iNotes is not enabled or not running, the XSS vector does not apply.
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Verify email routing is activeCheck that the Domino server is configured as a mail server by reviewing the Server document in Domino Administrator, or inspect the 'mail\boxes' directory on the Domino data directory for activity indicating mail processing is enabled.Affected if The server does not process incoming email, the stored XSS payload cannot be delivered to victims.
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Inspect email content handlingReview the iNotes configuration document (in Domino Directory under 'Configuration' - 'Servers' - 'All Server Documents' - 'Internet Protocols' - 'iNotes') to confirm HTML email rendering is permitted, as the XSS executes when HTML content is rendered in the browser.Affected if iNotes is configured to disable HTML message rendering (plain text only), the exploit chain is blocked.
The environment is affected if HCL iNotes version is 9.0-10.0.1 or 11.0.0-11.0.1, iNotes is enabled, and the server processes and renders HTML email content.
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 data10.0.111.0.1
Implement robust input validation and output encoding for all email message content, and apply Content Security Policy headers to mitigate script execution. Upgrade to vendor-supplied patches when available.
- Consultation6.0 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 $9,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-14271 — 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-2020-14271 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