Lotus Notes/Domino 5 Hash

What is Lotus Notes/Domino 5?

The Lotus Notes/Domino 5 hash format, introduced in the mid-1990s as part of IBM’s Lotus Domino server suite, was designed as a proprietary password storage mechanism to secure user credentials within its collaborative platform. Structurally, it employs a two-step process: first, the input password is hashed using a truncated MD5 (Message-Digest Algorithm 5) with a fixed 128-bit output, typically represented as a 32-character hexadecimal string (e.g., `0A4D5B1E2F8C9A7D6E4F3B2C1A0D9E8F`). The raw MD5 hash is then concatenated with a static salt (the string `SALTED.HASH.MD5`) and hashed again with MD5, producing the final stored representation. This design was intended to mitigate early plaintext storage vulnerabilities but relied on the assumption that MD5’s collision resistance and computational overhead would suffice for password security at the time. The primary use-case was authentication within Lotus Notes/Domino databases, where performance and compatibility with legacy systems took precedence over cryptographic rigor.

The Lotus Notes/Domino 5 hash format is highly vulnerable to cracking due to its reliance on MD5’s inherent weaknesses and architectural flaws. The absence of a dynamic salt per-password (only a static prefix is used) renders it susceptible to rainbow table attacks, as identical hashes can be precomputed and stored for brute-force decryption. Additionally, MD5’s 128-bit output space allows for feasible collision attacks (e.g., via birthday paradox exploits) and is easily parallelized across modern GPUs, which can evaluate millions of hashes per second using optimized tools like Hashcat or John the Ripper. The fixed-length, predictable structure also enables dictionary attacks to be accelerated via GPU-accelerated lookups, further compromising its resistance to brute-force efforts. Finally, the lack of iterative hashing (e.g., no key stretching) means the algorithm’s computational cost remains negligible, making it trivial to crack even for moderately complex passwords.

Identifying Lotus Notes/Domino 5 Hashes

Identifying a hash blindly is often difficult because multiple algorithms can output strings of the exact same length. For example, a standard 32-character hexadecimal string could be MD5, NTLM, MD4, or LM. To definitively identify Lotus Notes/Domino 5, security researchers analyze the hash against a strict regular expression (regex) signature (shown above) to find structural matches.

How to Crack Lotus Notes/Domino 5

If you need to recover the plaintext password for a Lotus Notes/Domino 5 hash during a penetration test or forensics investigation, you must supply the correct module ID to your cracking software. Use the exact commands provided at the top of this page to target the hash successfully.