CVE-2025-52632
📋 TL;DR
A missing Secure attribute in SSL cookies in HCL AION allows attackers to intercept session cookies over unencrypted HTTP connections. This affects HCL AION version 2.0 installations, potentially exposing authenticated user sessions to man-in-the-middle attacks.
💻 Affected Systems
- HCL AION
📦 What is this software?
Aion by Hcltech
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could steal authenticated session cookies and impersonate legitimate users, gaining unauthorized access to sensitive AION data and functionality.
Likely Case
Session hijacking in environments where attackers can intercept network traffic, leading to unauthorized access to AION applications.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if HTTPS is strictly enforced and network segmentation prevents traffic interception.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires ability to intercept network traffic between client and server.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Apply the fix from HCL support article KB0124444
Vendor Advisory: https://support.hcl-software.com/csm?id=kb_article&sysparm_article=KB0124444
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Access the HCL support portal. 2. Download the fix for KB0124444. 3. Apply the fix to your AION 2.0 installation following HCL's instructions. 4. Verify the Secure attribute is now set on SSL cookies.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Enforce HTTPS Strictly
allConfigure web server to redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS and set HSTS headers
# Apache: Redirect HTTP to HTTPS in .htaccess or vhost config
# Nginx: server { listen 80; return 301 https://$host$request_uri; }
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network segmentation to prevent traffic interception
- Deploy WAF with session protection rules to detect cookie theft attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Inspect browser developer tools to check if AION session cookies lack the Secure attribute when accessed over HTTPSCheck Version:
Check AION administration console or consult HCL documentation for version informationVerify Fix Applied:
Verify session cookies now have Secure attribute set when accessed over HTTPS📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple failed login attempts followed by successful login from different IP
- Session cookies being sent over HTTP connections
Network Indicators:
- Unencrypted HTTP traffic containing session cookies
- Cookie headers without Secure flag in HTTPS responses
SIEM Query:
source="web_server" AND (cookie="session" AND NOT secure) OR (http_request AND cookie AND NOT ssl)