CVE-2020-14231
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 · uneditedA vulnerability in the input parameter handling of HCL Client Application Access v9 could potentially be exploited by an authenticated attacker resulting in a stack buffer overflow. This could allow the attacker to crash the program or inject code into the system which would execute with the privileges of the currently logged in user.
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 · high confidenceA stack buffer overflow vulnerability exists in HCL Client Application Access v9's input parameter handling. An authenticated attacker can exploit this to crash the application or execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the currently logged-in user.
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= 9.0CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if HCL Client Application Access is installedCheck installed programs or application inventory for 'HCL Client Application Access' or 'Hcl Client Application Access'Affected if The application is present on the system
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Determine the installed version of HCL Client Application AccessUse system inventory tools, check program properties, or query the application's about/version information to confirm the exact version numberAffected if The installed version is exactly 9.0 (version 9.0)
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Verify if remote or local access is available to untrusted usersReview application access controls, user permissions, and authentication settings to determine if unauthenticated or untrusted users can reach the applicationAffected if Untrusted or unauthenticated users can access the application (note: CVE states authenticated attacker required, but assess whether your user base includes untrusted accounts)
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Monitor for application crashes or unusual behaviorReview application logs, Windows event logs, or crash dump files for unexpected terminations or errors related to Client Application AccessAffected if The application crashes repeatedly or exhibits unexpected behavior during normal use
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Check for suspicious processes or unauthorized code executionUse task manager or process monitoring tools to observe running processes under the logged-in user's context, looking for unexpected child processes spawned by the applicationAffected if Unexpected processes are running under the user's privileges that were not initiated by the user
You are affected if HCL Client Application Access version 9.0 is installed and accessible to users who could exploit the input parameter handling flaw.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataApply vendor-supplied patches/updates for HCL Client Application Access v9 when available; until then, limit access to trusted authenticated users and monitor for exploitation attempts.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,936.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-14231 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-14231 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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