CVE-2025-0253 identifies a session fixation vulnerability (CWE-384) in HCL Software's Intelligent Enterprise Management (IEM) product, specifically version 1.2. The vulnerability arises from the improper handling of cookie attributes related to session management. In particular, certain security-related cookie configurations are inconsistent or missing, which can allow an attacker to fixate a session identifier (session ID) before a user logs in. This means an attacker can set or predict a session ID and trick a legitimate user into authenticating with that session ID, enabling the attacker to hijack the authenticated session. The vulnerability is classified as low severity with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 2.0, reflecting limited impact and exploitation complexity. The CVSS vector indicates network attack vector (AV:N), high attack complexity (AC:H), requiring privileges (PR:H) and user interaction (UI:R), with only confidentiality impact (C:L) and no integrity or availability impact. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability's root cause is the failure to set or enforce secure cookie attributes such as HttpOnly, Secure, or SameSite flags consistently, which are critical for preventing session fixation and cross-site attacks. This inconsistency increases exposure to session fixation attacks, potentially allowing attackers to hijack user sessions and gain unauthorized access to the application under certain conditions.

For European organizations using HCL IEM version 1.2, this vulnerability could lead to unauthorized access to enterprise management functions if exploited. Although the severity is low and exploitation requires high privileges and user interaction, the risk remains for internal threat actors or sophisticated attackers who can trick users into interacting with malicious links or scripts. Compromise of session integrity could expose sensitive operational data or allow manipulation of enterprise management workflows, impacting business continuity and data confidentiality. Given that HCL IEM is used for enterprise management, unauthorized access could disrupt monitoring and control processes. However, the limited impact on integrity and availability reduces the risk of direct system damage or downtime. The vulnerability's low CVSS score suggests it is not a critical threat but should be addressed to maintain robust session security and prevent potential lateral movement within networks.

To mitigate this vulnerability, organizations should: 1) Apply any available patches or updates from HCL as soon as they are released. 2) Review and enforce secure cookie attributes in the IEM application configuration, ensuring cookies use HttpOnly, Secure, and SameSite flags appropriately to prevent session fixation and cross-site attacks. 3) Implement additional session management controls such as regenerating session IDs upon authentication and invalidating old sessions. 4) Conduct internal security assessments and penetration testing focused on session management to identify and remediate weaknesses. 5) Educate users about phishing and social engineering risks that could facilitate session fixation attacks requiring user interaction. 6) Monitor logs for suspicious session activity that could indicate exploitation attempts. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on configuration hardening, session lifecycle management, and user awareness tailored to the specifics of this vulnerability.