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VerseApplication · Hcltech

CVE-2021-27788

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-03-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.0 or later.
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 Verse is susceptible to a Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability.  By tricking a user into clicking a crafted URL, a remote unauthenticated attacker could execute script in a victim's web browser to perform operations as the victim and/or steal the victim's cookies, session tokens, or other sensitive information.

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 confidence

HCL Verse contains a reflected Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability where a remote unauthenticated attacker can craft malicious URLs that, when clicked by a victim, execute arbitrary JavaScript in the victim's browser context. This enables session hijacking via cookie/session token theft and performing operations as the authenticated user.

MitigationImplement proper input validation and output encoding for all user-supplied parameters in URLs. Additionally, deploy Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to mitigate XSS execution. User education on avoiding untrusted links provides a complementary defensive measure.

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
VerseApplication
Affected:>= 2.0, < 3.0

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. Identify installed HCL Verse version
    Access the HCL Verse admin console or check the product documentation for the installed version. In the Verse admin interface, navigate to the 'About' or 'Version Information' section typically found under Settings or Help menus.
    Affected if The displayed version is 2.0.x through 2.x.x (anything >= 2.0 and < 3.0)
  2. Verify exact version number against affected range
    Record the full version string (for example, 2.0.1, 2.0.2, 2.5.0). Compare this numerically to the affected range: versions 2.0.0 through 2.x.x are affected; version 3.0.0 and later are NOT affected.
    Affected if The version number falls within >= 2.0.0 and < 3.0.0
  3. Confirm web interface accessibility
    Determine if the HCL Verse web interface is accessible to end users or external networks. Check network configuration, firewall rules, and reverse proxy settings that expose the Verse server.
    Affected if The web interface is accessible and unauthenticated users can reach it
  4. Inspect for existing input validation
    Review any custom URL handling, web server configuration, or application gateway settings that process user-supplied parameters in URLs. Look for any existing input validation or output encoding configurations.
    Affected if No input validation or output encoding is implemented for URL parameters

You are affected if your installed HCL Verse version is 2.0.0 or higher but lower than 3.0.0, and the web interface is accessible to users who could click crafted malicious URLs.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.0 or later
Fixed in 3.0
Interim mitigation

Implement proper input validation and output encoding for all user-supplied parameters in URLs. Additionally, deploy Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to mitigate XSS execution. User education on avoiding untrusted links provides a complementary defensive measure.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

HCL Verse 3.0 or later

  1. Verify current HCL Verse installation version using the HCL Verse admin console or Domino server console
  2. Review HCL Verse 3.0 release notes and system requirements at support.hcltechsw.com
  3. Ensure the target environment meets all prerequisites for Verse 3.0 including Domino server version compatibility
  4. Create a complete backup of the current HCL Verse installation, configuration files, and Domino directory
  5. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment first to verify compatibility with existing workflows
  6. Execute the upgrade to HCL Verse 3.0 or later following HCL's standard upgrade procedures
  7. After upgrade, verify the XSS vulnerability is resolved by testing the previously vulnerable URL patterns
  8. Confirm all users can access HCL Verse successfully post-upgrade
Caveat Review HCL Verse 3.0 release notes for potential breaking changes related to features, API changes, or client compatibility requirements

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Verse Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2021-27788 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