dbcve.org
AionApplication · Hcl

CVE-2025-52638

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-16
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.1.2 or later.
See remediation →
78/100
Remediation priority · High
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 AION is affected by a vulnerability where generated containers may execute binaries with root-level privileges. Running containers with root privileges may increase the potential security risk, as it grants elevated permissions within the container environment. Aligning container configurations with security best practices requires minimizing privileges and avoiding root-level execution wherever possible.

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 AION generates containers that execute binaries with root-level privileges, granting elevated permissions within the container environment. This container privilege escalation vulnerability increases the attack surface and potential for container breakout attacks.

MitigationConfigure containers to run as non-root users by modifying container runtime configurations and ensuring the application does not require root privileges for operation.

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
AionApplication
Affected:>= 2.0, < 2.1.2

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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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 HCL AION installation and version
    Check the installed HCL AION version using package manager or application metadata (e.g., 'dpkg -l | grep aion', 'rpm -qi aion', or check application binaries for version info)
    Affected if The installed version is >= 2.0 and < 2.1.2
  2. Locate container configurations generated by HCL AION
    Inspect the container definition files, manifests, or templates created by HCL AION deployment (look for Dockerfiles, docker-compose files, Kubernetes manifests, or container runtime configs in the application directory)
    Affected if Container configurations exist and were generated by a vulnerable HCL AION version
  3. Verify container user execution context
    Examine container configuration for USER directive (in Dockerfiles) or securityContext.runAsUser (in Kubernetes specs) to determine if containers are configured to run as root (user ID 0)
    Affected if Containers are configured to run as root user (USER directive missing or set to root, or runAsUser: 0)
  4. Inspect running container processes for root privileges
    Execute 'docker ps' then 'docker exec <container_id> id' or 'kubectl exec <pod> -- id' to check the effective user ID of running processes inside the container
    Affected if Running container processes execute with UID 0 (root)

You are affected if HCL AION version 2.0 through 2.1.1 is installed and its generated containers are configured to run processes as root user.

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 2.1.2 or later
Fixed in 2.1.2
Interim mitigation

Configure containers to run as non-root users by modifying container runtime configurations and ensuring the application does not require root privileges for operation.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

2.1.2

  1. Backup your current Aion installation and configuration
  2. Review the HCL Aion 2.1.2 release notes for specific upgrade requirements
  3. Upgrade your Aion installation from version 2.0-2.1.1 to version 2.1.2 or later
  4. After upgrade, verify container configurations do not run as root by default
  5. Test that containers generated by Aion execute with non-root user privileges

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

Fix this in Aion Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
24.0 hours of engineering $4,160
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,656.

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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-2025-52638 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