CVE-2022-38656 in Commerce
Summary
by MITRE • 12/12/2022
HCL Commerce, when using Elasticsearch, can allow a remote attacker to cause a denial of service attack on the site and make administrative changes.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/07/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-38656 represents a critical security flaw within HCL Commerce platforms that utilize Elasticsearch as their search backend infrastructure. This issue stems from insufficient input validation and access control mechanisms that permit unauthorized remote attackers to exploit the system's search functionality. The flaw specifically manifests when the commerce platform processes user-supplied search parameters or administrative commands through Elasticsearch endpoints, creating a pathway for malicious actors to disrupt service availability and potentially gain unauthorized administrative privileges.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability involves a combination of improper parameter handling and inadequate authentication checks within the HCL Commerce application layer. When Elasticsearch queries are constructed from user inputs without proper sanitization, attackers can inject malicious payloads that cause the search engine to consume excessive system resources or execute unintended operations. This flaw operates at the intersection of application logic and database interaction, where the platform fails to properly validate or escape search parameters before passing them to the Elasticsearch engine. The vulnerability can be classified under CWE-20 as a weakness involving improper input validation, while also demonstrating characteristics of CWE-284 which relates to inadequate access control mechanisms.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability enables remote attackers to execute denial of service attacks that can severely disrupt business operations for e-commerce platforms relying on HCL Commerce. The service disruption can manifest through resource exhaustion, system crashes, or complete unavailability of the search functionality that customers depend upon for product discovery and navigation. Additionally, the potential for administrative changes suggests that attackers might be able to escalate privileges or modify critical system configurations, potentially leading to data compromise or further system infiltration. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that the vulnerability can be exploited remotely without requiring authentication, making it accessible to any internet-connected attacker.
Organizations utilizing HCL Commerce with Elasticsearch deployments should implement immediate mitigations including input validation controls, rate limiting on search operations, and enhanced access controls for administrative functions. The recommended approach involves deploying web application firewalls to filter malicious search parameters, implementing proper authentication for all administrative endpoints, and establishing monitoring protocols to detect unusual search patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Security teams should also consider applying the vendor-provided patches or updates as soon as they become available, while implementing network segmentation to limit access to Elasticsearch endpoints. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1499 for network denial of service and potentially T1078 for valid accounts usage if privilege escalation occurs, making comprehensive monitoring essential for incident response and threat hunting activities.