CVE-2025-55251VulnerabilityPublished 19 Jan 2026

CVE-2025-55251: HCL Software AION · Unrestricted File Upload

Affects HCL Software AIONSource 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: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 11% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

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

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

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: High: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide significant (e.g., administrative) control over the vulnerable component that could affect component-wide settings and files.
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: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 19 Jan 2026
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 SoftwareAION	Affected =2	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2025-55251 effectively, European organizations should: 1) Monitor HCL Software advisories closely and apply patches or updates as soon as they become available. 2) Implement strict file type validation on all upload endpoints, restricting uploads to only necessary and safe file formats. 3) Limit file upload permissions to the minimum number of users with a genuine need, preferably avoiding granting upload capabilities to high-privilege accounts unless absolutely necessary. 4) Employ application-layer security controls such as web application firewalls (WAFs) to detect and block suspicious upload attempts. 5) Conduct regular audits of uploaded files and system logs to identify unauthorized or anomalous activity. 6) Enforce multi-factor authentication and strong access controls to reduce the risk of credential compromise that could lead to exploitation. 7) Educate privileged users about the risks of file uploads and the importance of cautious interaction with upload interfaces. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on access restriction, validation, and proactive monitoring tailored to the vulnerability's characteristics.

Description

HCL AION is affected by an Unrestricted File Upload vulnerability. This can allow malicious file uploads, potentially resulting in unauthorized code execution or system compromise.

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of this vulnerability is the potential for disruption of services or alteration of data integrity within systems running HCL AION version 2. Although confidentiality is not directly affected, unauthorized file uploads could lead to system instability or denial of service if malicious files are executed or cause application failures. The requirement for high privileges and user interaction reduces the likelihood of remote exploitation but does not eliminate insider threats or attacks leveraging compromised credentials. Organizations in sectors where HCL AION is used for critical business processes—such as finance, manufacturing, or government—may face operational risks. Additionally, the absence of known exploits suggests a window for proactive mitigation before attackers develop weaponized payloads. The low CVSS score reflects the limited scope and complexity, but the potential impact on availability and integrity warrants attention, especially in environments with sensitive or critical data processing.

CWE-434Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: MediumCWE Top 25 (2025): #12OWASP Top 10 A06:2025: Insecure Design (opens in a new tab)
The product allows the upload or transfer of dangerous file types that are automatically processed within its environment.
Architecture and Design
Generate a new, unique filename for an uploaded file instead of using the user-supplied filename, so that no external input is used at all.
Architecture and Design · Enforcement by Conversion
When the set of acceptable objects, such as filenames or URLs, is limited or known, create a mapping from a set of fixed input values (such as numeric IDs) to the actual filenames or URLs, and reject all other inputs.
Architecture and Design
Consider storing the uploaded files outside of the web document root entirely. Then, use other mechanisms to deliver the files dynamically.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Server Side Request Forgery Prevention (opens in a new tab)
Web Service Security (opens in a new tab)
Third Party Javascript Management (opens in a new tab)
File Upload (opens in a new tab)
Secure Design Principles (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V12.5.2 (opens in a new tab)
V13.1.5 (opens in a new tab)
V12.2.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Accessing Functionality Not Properly Constrained by ACLs (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

support.hcl-software.com/kb_view.do?sys_kb_id=4b92474633de7ad4159a05273e5c7b4b&searchTerm=kb0127995 (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 26 Jan 2026, 20:08 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-434

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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