CVE-2023-37541 in Connections
Summary
by MITRE • 06/25/2024
HCL Connections contains a broken access control vulnerability that may allow unauthorized user to update data in certain scenarios.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/29/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-37541 resides within HCL Connections, a collaborative software platform that enables organizations to facilitate teamwork and knowledge sharing through integrated social collaboration features. This broken access control flaw represents a critical security weakness that could potentially compromise the integrity of user data and system operations. The vulnerability manifests when specific conditions are met, allowing unauthorized individuals to perform data modification activities that should typically be restricted to authorized users only. Such a scenario creates significant risks for organizations relying on HCL Connections for business-critical collaboration and information management processes.
The technical nature of this access control failure stems from inadequate authorization checks within the platform's data modification workflows. When users attempt to update data through the application's interfaces, the system fails to properly validate whether the requesting user possesses the necessary privileges to perform such operations. This weakness likely exists in the application's permission model implementation where role-based access controls or attribute-based access controls do not adequately enforce data modification boundaries. The vulnerability may be particularly pronounced in scenarios involving cross-domain operations or when the platform's access control mechanisms fail to properly distinguish between different user roles and their corresponding data access privileges. This flaw operates at the application layer and could potentially be exploited through various attack vectors including direct API calls, web interface manipulation, or through the exploitation of other vulnerabilities that might bypass initial authentication mechanisms.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data integrity concerns to encompass broader organizational security implications. Unauthorized data updates could lead to information tampering, data corruption, or the manipulation of critical business information that affects decision-making processes. Organizations using HCL Connections for sensitive operations such as project management, document collaboration, or knowledge base maintenance face particular risk as malicious actors could alter project timelines, modify critical documentation, or corrupt shared resources. The vulnerability's potential to enable unauthorized modifications also creates risks for compliance requirements, as organizations may fail to maintain audit trails or data provenance that regulatory frameworks require. Additionally, the compromised access control could enable attackers to escalate privileges within the system or use the modified data as a foundation for further attacks against other system components or user accounts.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including thorough review and reinforcement of access control policies within their HCL Connections deployments. The recommended approach involves validating user permissions at every data modification request and ensuring that the system properly enforces role-based access controls. Security teams should conduct comprehensive access control assessments to identify all potential pathways through which unauthorized modifications could occur. System administrators should also consider implementing additional monitoring and logging mechanisms to detect anomalous data modification activities that might indicate exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-285 which addresses improper authorization in access control systems and may also relate to ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts for maintaining access. Organizations should prioritize applying vendor patches or workarounds as soon as they become available and conduct regular security testing to ensure that access control mechanisms remain effective against evolving threats. The remediation process should also include user education on recognizing potential security incidents and establishing clear procedures for reporting suspicious activities within the collaborative environment.