CVE-2019-4209 in HCL Connections
Summary
by MITRE
HCL Connections v5.5, v6.0, and v6.5 contains an open redirect vulnerability which could be exploited by an attacker to conduct phishing attacks.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/15/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-4209 affects HCL Connections versions 5.5, 6.0, and 6.5, representing a critical open redirect flaw that enables attackers to manipulate user navigation through maliciously crafted URLs. This vulnerability resides within the web application's redirect functionality, where input validation is insufficient to prevent unauthorized redirection to external domains. The flaw allows an attacker to construct a URL that appears legitimate but redirects users to malicious websites, creating a dangerous vector for social engineering and phishing campaigns. The open redirect vulnerability specifically maps to CWE-601, which classifies open redirect vulnerabilities as a serious security weakness where applications redirect users to untrusted destinations without proper validation.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves the application's failure to properly sanitize and validate redirect parameters passed through URL query strings or other input vectors. When users click on links that contain redirect parameters, the application processes these parameters without verifying whether the destination domain is trusted or authorized. This oversight creates a pathway where attackers can craft deceptive URLs that appear to originate from legitimate HCL Connections domains but actually redirect to attacker-controlled websites. The flaw operates at the application layer, specifically within the web framework's URL handling mechanisms, and can be exploited across various browser environments without requiring any special privileges or authentication.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to organizations using HCL Connections as their collaboration platform. Attackers can leverage this flaw to conduct sophisticated phishing campaigns by embedding malicious redirect URLs in emails, documents, or social media posts that appear to come from trusted sources within the organization. The impact extends beyond simple credential theft, as users may be redirected to sites that install malware, collect personal information, or perform other malicious activities. The vulnerability affects the integrity of user trust within the application environment, potentially leading to data breaches, unauthorized access to sensitive information, and reputational damage for organizations that rely on HCL Connections for business collaboration and document sharing.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including input validation controls that verify redirect destinations against a whitelist of trusted domains, and the implementation of proper URL sanitization routines that prevent external redirection when users are authenticated. Network-level controls such as web application firewalls can provide additional protection by monitoring and blocking suspicious redirect patterns. The vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566, which covers social engineering through phishing, and T1071.004, which addresses application layer protocol usage for command and control communications. Security teams should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all instances of this flaw across their HCL Connections deployments and ensure proper patching procedures are followed according to vendor advisories. Regular security testing including penetration testing and web application scanning should be implemented to detect similar vulnerabilities in other applications and prevent exploitation attempts.