CVE-2024-51475 is a medium severity vulnerability affecting IBM Content Navigator versions 3.0.11, 3.0.15, and 3.1.0. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-80, which corresponds to improper neutralization of script-related HTML tags in a web page, commonly known as Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). Specifically, this vulnerability allows a remote attacker with low privileges (PR:L) to inject malicious HTML code into the IBM Content Navigator web interface. When a victim views the injected content, the malicious code executes within the security context of the hosting site, potentially compromising the confidentiality and integrity of user data. The attack vector is network-based (AV:N), requires low attack complexity (AC:L), and user interaction (UI:R) is necessary for exploitation, such as a user viewing a crafted page or content. The vulnerability scope is changed (S:C), indicating that the exploit can affect resources beyond the initially vulnerable component. The CVSS score of 5.4 reflects a medium severity level, with partial impacts on confidentiality and integrity but no impact on availability. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability arises from insufficient sanitization or encoding of user-supplied input, allowing malicious HTML or script injection. This can lead to session hijacking, unauthorized actions on behalf of the user, or theft of sensitive information within the IBM Content Navigator environment.

For European organizations using IBM Content Navigator, this vulnerability poses a moderate risk. IBM Content Navigator is widely used for enterprise content management, document handling, and workflow automation, often containing sensitive corporate data. Exploitation could allow attackers to execute scripts in the context of authenticated users, potentially leading to unauthorized access to confidential documents, manipulation of content, or credential theft. This could result in data breaches, compliance violations (e.g., GDPR), and operational disruptions. Since the vulnerability requires user interaction, phishing or social engineering could be used to lure users into triggering the exploit. The scope change indicates that the attacker might leverage this vulnerability to affect other components or users within the same environment, increasing the potential damage. The medium severity suggests that while the vulnerability is not critical, it should be addressed promptly to prevent escalation or chaining with other vulnerabilities. European organizations with strict data protection regulations and high-value content repositories are particularly at risk of reputational and financial damage if exploited.

1. Immediate mitigation should include implementing strict input validation and output encoding on all user-supplied content within IBM Content Navigator to neutralize malicious HTML or script tags. 2. Apply any available IBM security patches or updates as soon as they are released; monitor IBM security advisories closely. 3. Employ Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the execution of untrusted scripts and reduce the impact of XSS attacks. 4. Use web application firewalls (WAFs) configured to detect and block XSS payloads targeting IBM Content Navigator endpoints. 5. Educate users about the risks of interacting with untrusted links or content within the application to reduce the likelihood of successful social engineering. 6. Conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing focused on web application vulnerabilities, including XSS, to identify and remediate similar issues proactively. 7. Restrict user privileges to the minimum necessary to reduce the potential impact of compromised accounts. 8. Monitor logs and user activity for unusual behavior that could indicate exploitation attempts.