CVE-2020-14234
📋 TL;DR
HCL Domino servers are vulnerable to denial of service attacks due to improper input validation. An attacker can send specially crafted input to crash the server, affecting versions before 9.0.1 FP10 IF6 and 10.0.1. This impacts organizations using vulnerable HCL Domino installations.
💻 Affected Systems
- HCL Domino
📦 What is this software?
Domino by Hcltech
Domino by Hcltech
Domino by Hcltech
Domino by Hcltech
Domino by Hcltech
Domino by Hcltech
Domino by Hcltech
Domino by Hcltech
Domino by Hcltech
Domino by Hcltech
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete server crash leading to extended service disruption and potential data loss if recovery mechanisms fail.
Likely Case
Temporary service outage requiring server restart, disrupting email, applications, and collaboration services.
If Mitigated
Minimal impact with proper network segmentation and monitoring allowing quick detection and recovery.
🎯 Exploit Status
The vulnerability requires sending malformed input but does not require authentication or special privileges.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 9.0.1 FP10 IF6 or 10.0.1 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://support.hcltechsw.com/csm?id=kb_article&sysparm_article=KB0085302
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Download the appropriate fix pack from HCL Support. 2. Apply the fix pack following HCL Domino update procedures. 3. Restart the Domino server to activate the patch.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network Access Control
allRestrict network access to Domino servers to trusted sources only
Input Validation Filtering
allImplement network-level input validation or WAF rules to filter suspicious requests
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network segmentation to isolate Domino servers from untrusted networks
- Deploy monitoring and alerting for unusual traffic patterns or server crashes
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Domino version via console command 'show server' or examine program directory version filesCheck Version:
show server (Domino console) or check notes.ini BuildVersionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify version is 9.0.1 FP10 IF6 or higher, or 10.0.1 or higher after patch application📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected server crashes
- Abnormal termination logs
- Increased error messages in Domino console
Network Indicators:
- Unusual traffic patterns to Domino ports
- Multiple connection attempts with malformed data
SIEM Query:
source="domino.log" AND ("crash" OR "abnormal termination" OR "server stopped unexpectedly")