CVE-2023-45720 in Leap
Summary
by MITRE • 04/24/2025
Insufficient default configuration in HCL Leap allows anonymous access to directory information.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/29/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2023-45720 represents a critical security flaw in HCL Leap, a collaboration platform that has been widely adopted for enterprise document management and workflow automation. This issue stems from insufficient default configuration practices within the software's directory services implementation, creating a significant security gap that allows unauthorized access to sensitive directory information without proper authentication. The vulnerability specifically affects the platform's default installation settings, where directory access controls are not properly enforced, enabling any unauthenticated user to retrieve directory data that should remain restricted.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the platform's default configuration where directory services are exposed without adequate access controls or authentication mechanisms. When HCL Leap is installed with its default settings, the directory information service remains accessible to anonymous users, creating an attack surface that violates fundamental security principles. This misconfiguration allows malicious actors to enumerate directory entries, user information, and potentially sensitive organizational data through the exposed directory interface. The flaw is particularly concerning because it occurs at the configuration level rather than as a runtime vulnerability, meaning that even properly patched software installations remain vulnerable if administrators fail to modify the default settings during deployment.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates substantial risk for organizations using HCL Leap, as it potentially exposes sensitive directory information including user accounts, group memberships, organizational hierarchies, and other metadata that could be leveraged for further attacks. The exposure of directory information enables threat actors to conduct reconnaissance activities, identify potential targets for credential stuffing attacks, and map organizational structures for social engineering operations. According to the mitre ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to technique T1087.002 Directory Enumeration and T1580 Lateral Movement, as it provides attackers with information necessary for expanding their access within the network. The vulnerability also aligns with CWE-284 Access Control Issues, specifically addressing inadequate access control mechanisms in default configurations.
Organizations should immediately address this vulnerability by implementing proper access controls and disabling anonymous access to directory information services within their HCL Leap installations. The recommended mitigation strategies include configuring explicit access controls for directory services, disabling anonymous authentication where possible, and implementing proper network segmentation to limit access to directory services. Security teams should also conduct thorough audits of their HCL Leap deployments to ensure that default configurations have been properly modified and that access controls align with organizational security policies. Additionally, organizations should implement monitoring solutions to detect unauthorized access attempts to directory services and establish incident response procedures for potential exploitation of this vulnerability. The vulnerability underscores the importance of following security best practices during software deployment and the critical need for proper configuration management to prevent default settings from creating security weaknesses.