CVE-2021-27774VulnerabilityPublished 22 Sep 2022Updated 27 May 2025

CVE-2021-27774: HCL Digital Experience · Information Exposure Through an Error Message

Affects HCL Digital ExperienceSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 3.1 Low.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

3.1Low

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 36% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: High
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: Low
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: High: A successful attack depends on conditions beyond the attacker's control. That is, a successful attack cannot be accomplished at will, but requires the attacker to invest in some measurable amount of effort in preparation or execution against the vulnerable component before a successful attack can be expected. For example, a successful attack may require an attacker to: gather knowledge about the environment in which the vulnerable target/component exists; prepare the target environment to improve exploit reliability; or inject themselves into the logical network path between the target and the resource requested by the victim in order to read and/or modify network communications (e.g., a man in the middle attack).
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 22 Sep 2022
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
HCL Software HCL Digital Experience	Affected =8.5 =9.0 =9.5	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate the risk posed by CVE-2021-27774, European organizations should implement the following specific measures: 1) Review and sanitize all error messages generated by HCL Digital Experience to ensure that user input is not reflected back in responses. This may involve customizing error handling routines or applying vendor-provided patches or updates once available. 2) Implement strict input validation and output encoding to prevent injection of malicious content into error messages. 3) Configure web application firewalls (WAFs) to detect and block suspicious requests that attempt to exploit error message reflection. 4) Educate employees and users about phishing risks, emphasizing awareness of suspicious URLs and error messages that may be crafted to appear legitimate. 5) Monitor logs for unusual error message patterns or repeated triggering of error responses that include user input, which could indicate attempted exploitation. 6) Engage with HCL Software support to obtain any available patches or recommended configuration changes addressing this vulnerability. 7) Conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing focused on error handling and information disclosure to proactively identify and remediate similar issues.

Description

User input included in error response, which could be used in a phishing attack.

Impact

For European organizations using HCL Digital Experience versions 8.5, 9.0, or 9.5, this vulnerability poses a moderate risk primarily in the context of phishing and social engineering attacks. While the direct technical impact on system confidentiality, integrity, and availability is low, the exposure of user input in error messages can be exploited to craft more convincing phishing campaigns targeting employees or customers. This can lead to credential theft, unauthorized access, or further exploitation through secondary attacks. Organizations in sectors with high reliance on web portals for customer interaction, such as finance, government, healthcare, and e-commerce, may face increased risks if attackers use this vulnerability to enhance the credibility of phishing attempts. Additionally, compliance with GDPR and other European data protection regulations requires minimizing unnecessary data exposure, including in error messages. Failure to address this vulnerability could lead to reputational damage and regulatory scrutiny if exploited in phishing campaigns that result in data breaches or fraud.

CWE-209Generation of Error Message Containing Sensitive Information (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighOWASP Top 10 A10:2025: Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions (opens in a new tab)
The product generates an error message that includes sensitive information about its environment, users, or associated data.
Implementation
Ensure that error messages only contain minimal details that are useful to the intended audience and no one else. The messages need to strike the balance between being too cryptic (which can confuse users) or being too detailed (which may reveal more than intended).
Implementation
Handle exceptions internally and do not display errors containing potentially sensitive information to a user.
Implementation · Attack Surface Reduction
Use naming conventions and strong types to make it easier to spot when sensitive data is being used. When creating structures, objects, or other complex entities, separate the sensitive and non-sensitive data as much as possible.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Error Handling (opens in a new tab)
Logging (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.3.4 (opens in a new tab)
V14.3.3 (opens in a new tab)
V7.3.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Fuzzing for application mapping (opens in a new tab)
Padding Oracle Crypto Attack (opens in a new tab)
Query System for Information (opens in a new tab)
Blind SQL Injection (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

support.hcltechsw.com/csm?id=kb_article&sysparm_article=KB0100491 (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 6 Jul 2025, 03:56 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-209

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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