Hcl CompassApplication · Hcltech

CVE-2023-37502

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-10-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.2.3 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable Zero-click

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 Compass is vulnerable to lack of file upload security.  An attacker could upload files containing active code that can be executed by the server or by a user's web browser.

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 Compass lacks proper file upload validation, allowing attackers to upload files containing executable code (e.g., web shells, scripts) that can run on the server or be delivered to users' browsers for client-side execution.

MitigationImplement strict allowlist-based file validation (file extension, MIME type, magic bytes), store uploads outside the webroot or with no execution permissions, and disable script execution in upload directories.

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 CompassApplication
Affected:>= 2.0.0, <= 2.0.3>= 2.2.0, < 2.2.3= 2.1.0

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify installed HCL Compass version
    Locate the version information for your HCL Compass installation (typically found in product documentation, installation files, or admin console)
    Affected if The installed version is 2.0.0 through 2.0.3, 2.1.0, or 2.2.0 through 2.2.2
  2. Confirm file upload functionality is accessible
    Determine if the file upload feature is enabled and accessible to users in your deployment
    Affected if File upload capability is available and no upload restrictions are documented or configured
  3. Review upload validation controls
    Inspect configuration settings, policy files, or admin panels that control file upload validation (such as allowed file types, extensions, or content validation)
    Affected if No allowlist-based file validation (extension, MIME type, or content validation) is configured, or validation appears to accept executable file types

You are affected if your installed version falls within 2.0.0-2.0.3, 2.1.0, or 2.2.0-2.2.2 AND the file upload feature is accessible without strict validation controls.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2.2.3 or later
Fixed in 2.2.3
Interim mitigation

Implement strict allowlist-based file validation (file extension, MIME type, magic bytes), store uploads outside the webroot or with no execution permissions, and disable script execution in upload directories.

Fix this in Hcl Compass Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
44.0 hours of engineering $7,720
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $12,352.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-37502 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-37502 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