cbcvebase.
CVE-2012-2174
published 2012-06-20

CVE-2012-2174: The URL handler in IBM Lotus Notes 8.x before 8.5.3 FP2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted notes:// URL.

PriorityP265critical9.3CVSS 2.0
AVNACMAuNCCICAC
EXPLOIT
EPSS
38.29%
98.4th percentile
The URL handler in IBM Lotus Notes 8.x before 8.5.3 FP2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted notes:// URL.

Affected

27 ranges· showing 25
VendorProductVersion rangeFixed in
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Detection & IOCsextracted from sources · hover to see the quote

urlnotes://
  • Detect notes:// URI handler invocations originating from web browsers (IE, Chrome) that contain command-injection characters (e.g., '&', '%TEMP%') in the URL parameter.
  • Alert on HTTP responses with Content-Type: application/octet-stream served from the same host that previously delivered a notes:// exploit page, as the module serves the payload EXE this way.
  • Look for Meterpreter post-exploitation migration activity immediately after Notes client exploitation; the module sets InitialAutoRunScript to 'migrate -k -f' to migrate out of the Notes process.
  • Detect short (2-character alpha) .exe and .js files dropped into %TEMP% in close temporal proximity, as the exploit stages a randomly named JS downloader and EXE payload there.
  • ·The exploit module supports optional JavaScript obfuscation (OBFUSCATE option), meaning the delivered HTML page may use obfuscated JS to trigger the notes:// link click, reducing the reliability of static JS-pattern detection.
  • ·The module uses a MouseEvent-based programmatic link click to trigger the notes:// handler, bypassing the need for user interaction; detections relying on user-initiated protocol handler invocation will miss this.
  • ·The payload space is constrained to 2048 bytes with a stack adjustment of -3500; shellcode exceeding this size will not work, limiting the payload types usable in-the-wild with this vector.
  • ·EXITFUNC is set to 'none', meaning the exploited process will likely crash after payload execution; process-crash telemetry for the Notes client following a browser-initiated notes:// call is a strong indicator of exploitation.
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