dbcve.org
Hcl Digital ExperienceApplication · Hcltech

CVE-2020-14222

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-11-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
HCL Digital Experience 8.5, 9.0, 9.5 is susceptible to cross site scripting (XSS). One subcomponent is vulnerable to reflected XSS. In reflected XSS, an attacker must induce a victim to click on a crafted URL from some delivery mechanism (email, other web site).

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

HCL Digital Experience versions 8.5, 9.0, and 9.5 contain a reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in one subcomponent. The attack requires tricking a user into clicking a specially crafted malicious URL, causing the injected script to be reflected back and executed in the victim's browser.

MitigationImplement proper input validation and output encoding on the vulnerable subcomponent to sanitize user-supplied data before rendering it in the response. Consider deploying a WAF as an interim measure while the code fix is developed and deployed.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Hcl Digital ExperienceApplication
Affected:= 8.5= 9.0= 9.5

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify HCL Digital Experience is installed
    Check for HCL Digital Experience running on the system by reviewing running web application processes, installed software listings, or checking common installation directories such as /opt/hcl/dx or C:\IBM\WebSphere\wp on Windows.
    Affected if HCL Digital Experience software is present on the server or behind the web server being tested.
  2. Identify the installed DX version
    Locate the version file or use the DX version identification method - common locations include the Digital Experience Administration console, the version.info file in the installation directory, or querying the portal through the WPS versionInfo task.
    Affected if The version cannot be determined or the software is not HCL Digital Experience.
  3. Compare version to affected releases
    Match your installed version against the affected releases: 8.5, 9.0, and 9.5. If your version is one of these three releases (or a sub-version within these release lines), you are running a potentially affected version.
    Affected if Your installed version matches 8.5, 9.0, or 9.5 (or any sub-version within these release families).
  4. Identify the vulnerable subcomponent
    Since the CVE references a specific subcomponent but the name is not provided in the vulnerability details, review application logs and HTTP traffic for unusual parameter handling. Examine URL parameters in any custom or third-party portlets, themes, or web modules that handle user input.
    Affected if A subcomponent within DX processes user-supplied input without proper output encoding, enabling reflected script injection.
  5. Check for evidence of exploitation
    Review web server access logs and DX application logs for suspicious URL patterns containing script tags or HTML in query parameters. Look for unexpected requests matching patterns like <script> or javascript: in URL parameters.
    Affected if Log analysis reveals requests with malicious script injection attempts targeting reflected XSS endpoints.

You are affected if HCL Digital Experience version 8.5, 9.0, or 9.5 is installed and the vulnerable subcomponent that does not sanitize user input is in use.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Implement proper input validation and output encoding on the vulnerable subcomponent to sanitize user-supplied data before rendering it in the response. Consider deploying a WAF as an interim measure while the code fix is developed and deployed.

Fix this in Hcl Digital Experience Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,690
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-14222 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data