{"id":"CVE-2026-21849","kind":"vulnerability","aliases":["CVE-2026-21849"],"related":[],"title":"HCL AION: GenAI web interface WebSocket traffic sent unencrypted","description":"HCL AION is affected by a missing encryption vulnerability in the WebSocket connection set up by the GenAI web interface. The connection used the unencrypted WebSocket protocol (ws://localhost:8000) instead of an encrypted (wss://) channel. This may allow data exchanged over the connection to be intercepted or read by an attacker on the network, potentially resulting in unintended behavior or security impact under certain conditions.","summary":"The GenAI web interface in HCL AION opens its WebSocket connection over plain ws:// (ws://localhost:8000) rather than encrypted wss://. An attacker on the network path could read or alter data exchanged over that connection.","severity":"low","cvss":3.7,"epss":null,"exploited":false,"exploited_at":null,"products":[{"name":"HCL AION","fixed":["2.8.0"],"affected":"2.6.0","ecosystem":"vendor"}],"ecosystems":[],"tags":["ai-tooling","genai","hcl-aion","websocket"],"not_affected_if":["no-network-exposure","not-hcl-aion"],"how_to_check":"- Check your HCL AION version: HCL lists V2.6.0 as affected for this CVE; v2.8.0 contains the fix. V2.7.0 is listed in the bulletin only for other CVEs, not this one.\n- If the GenAI web interface is deployed, check whether its WebSocket connection uses ws://localhost:8000 (unencrypted) instead of wss://.","fix":"Upgrade HCL AION to v2.8.0 (remediated there per HCL); HCL AION support team assists with the upgrade.","status":"open","published_at":"2026-11-06T14:17:11+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-11-06T14:42:11+00:00","triaged_at":"2026-11-06T14:43:49+00:00","updated_at":"2026-11-06T14:45:28+00:00","category":"ai-tooling","confidence":0.85,"triage":{"at":"2026-11-06T14:43:49Z","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","output":{"fix":"unknown","reach":"network","title":"HCL AION: GenAI web interface WebSocket traffic sent unencrypted","impact":"low","summary":"The GenAI web interface in HCL AION opens its WebSocket connection over plain ws:// (ws://localhost:8000) rather than encrypted wss://. An attacker on the network path could read or alter data exchanged over that connection.","audience":"businesses","category":"ai-tooling","nicknames":[],"who_cares":["hcl-aion","genai","websocket"],"confidence":0.5,"fix_status":"unknown","needs_auth":"unknown","worst_case":"traffic between the interface and its backend could be read or altered","analyst_note":"Find the affected HCL AION versions and the vendor's fix or configuration guidance for the GenAI WebSocket; sources list only NVD.","how_to_check":"- Confirm whether the GenAI web interface of HCL AION is deployed in your environment.\n- Check the WebSocket URL the interface uses; the sources cite `ws://localhost:8000` as the unencrypted endpoint.\n- Check the affected version range: unknown, the sources do not say.","plain_action":"","needs_analyst":true,"not_affected_if":["not-hcl-aion","no-network-exposure"],"who_is_affected":"The advisory describes the GenAI web interface of HCL AION, which sets up its WebSocket connection without TLS. Exposure depends on whether that traffic crosses a network an attacker can observe; traffic that stays on the same machine is a much smaller risk. Teams not running HCL AION can skip it. Affected version ranges and vendor fixes are unknown from the sources.","user_interaction":"no","needs_special_setup":"unknown","severity_if_unknown":"low"},"cost_usd":0.000732,"input_tokens":4267,"output_tokens":610,"severity_before":"low"},"analyst_status":"done","analyst_note":"Find the affected HCL AION versions and the vendor's fix or configuration guidance for the GenAI WebSocket; sources list only NVD.","search":"'-2026':11A,14A '-21849':12A,15A '8000':40B,87C 'affect':62C 'ai':19B 'ai-tool':18B 'aion':2A,17A,24B,32B,60C 'allow':95C 'alter':53B 'attack':45B,108C 'behavior':116C 'certain':121C 'channel':92C 'condit':122C 'connect':36B,58B,71C,80C,100C 'could':50B 'cve':10A,13A 'data':54B,96C 'encrypt':43B,66C,91C 'exchang':55B,97C 'genai':3A,21B,27B,76C 'hcl':1A,16A,23B,31B,59C 'hcl-aion':22B 'impact':119C 'instead':88C 'intercept':103C 'interfac':5A,29B,78C 'localhost':39B,86C 'may':94C 'miss':65C 'network':48B,111C 'open':33B 'path':49B 'plain':38B 'potenti':112C 'protocol':85C 'rather':41B 'read':51B,105C 'result':113C 'secur':118C 'sent':8A 'set':72C 'tool':20B 'traffic':7A 'unencrypt':9A,83C 'unintend':115C 'use':81C 'vulner':67C 'web':4A,28B,77C 'websocket':6A,25B,35B,70C,84C","nicknames":[],"mitigations":[],"who_affected":"Teams running HCL AION 2.6.0 with the GenAI web interface, whose WebSocket connection is set up as ws://localhost:8000 instead of wss://. Data on that connection could be read by an attacker on the network path; traffic that stays on one machine is a smaller risk. Teams not running HCL AION, or already on 2.8.0, can skip it.","tier":"B","verified":{"fix":{"at":"2026-11-06T14:45:28Z","by":"analyst","doc":"https://support.hcl-software.com/csm?id=kb_article&sysparm_article=KB0135118","run_id":1900},"products":{"at":"2026-11-06T14:45:28Z","by":"analyst","doc":"https://support.hcl-software.com/csm?id=kb_article&sysparm_article=KB0135118","run_id":1900},"how_to_check":{"at":"2026-11-06T14:45:28Z","by":"analyst","doc":"https://support.hcl-software.com/csm?id=kb_article&sysparm_article=KB0135118","run_id":1900},"who_affected":{"at":"2026-11-06T14:45:28Z","by":"analyst","doc":"https://support.hcl-software.com/csm?id=kb_article&sysparm_article=KB0135118","run_id":1900}},"analyst_revisit_at":null,"fix_status":"available","audience":"businesses","plain_action":null,"pkeys":["aion","hclaion"],"ptokens":["aion","hcl"],"labels":["aitooling","genai","hclaion","low","websocket"],"campaign_type":null,"search_a":"'-2026':11A,14A '-21849':12A,15A 'aion':2A,17A 'cve':10A,13A 'genai':3A 'hcl':1A,16A 'interfac':5A 'sent':8A 'traffic':7A 'unencrypt':9A 'web':4A 'websocket':6A","search_b":"'8000':40B 'ai':19B 'ai-tool':18B 'aion':24B,32B 'alter':53B 'attack':45B 'connect':36B,58B 'could':50B 'data':54B 'encrypt':43B 'exchang':55B 'genai':21B,27B 'hcl':23B,31B 'hcl-aion':22B 'interfac':29B 'localhost':39B 'network':48B 'open':33B 'path':49B 'plain':38B 'rather':41B 'read':51B 'tool':20B 'web':28B 'websocket':25B,35B","search_c":"'8000':87C 'affect':62C 'aion':60C 'allow':95C 'attack':108C 'behavior':116C 'certain':121C 'channel':92C 'condit':122C 'connect':71C,80C,100C 'data':96C 'encrypt':66C,91C 'exchang':97C 'genai':76C 'hcl':59C 'impact':119C 'instead':88C 'intercept':103C 'interfac':78C 'localhost':86C 'may':94C 'miss':65C 'network':111C 'potenti':112C 'protocol':85C 'read':105C 'result':113C 'secur':118C 'set':72C 'unencrypt':83C 'unintend':115C 'use':81C 'vulner':67C 'web':77C 'websocket':70C,84C","first_public_at":"2026-11-06T14:17:11+00:00","kev":null,"cvss_vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N","cvss_by":"psirt@hcl.com","poc_count":0,"sources":[{"source":"nvd","external_id":"CVE-2026-21849","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-21849","severity":null,"published_at":"2026-11-06T14:17:11+00:00","modified_at":"2026-11-06T14:17:11+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-11-06T14:42:11+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-11-06T14:42:11+00:00","note":null},{"source":"analyst","external_id":"CVE-2026-21849:1900","url":"https://support.hcl-software.com/csm?id=kb_article&sysparm_article=KB0135118","severity":null,"published_at":"2026-11-06T14:45:28+00:00","modified_at":"2026-11-06T14:45:28+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-11-06T14:45:28+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-11-06T14:45:28+00:00","note":"Read HCL bulletin KB0135118 (4 Nov 2026) via browser: CVE-2026-21849 lists HCL AION V2.6.0 as affected; fixed in v2.8.0. No config workaround stated. Same bulletin covers sibling CVE-2026-5345 (ws://test).","cites":["https://support.hcl-software.com/csm?id=kb_article&sysparm_article=KB0135118"]}],"documents":[{"id":87158,"url":"https://support.hcl-software.com/csm?id=kb_article&sysparm_article=KB0135118","title":"HCL Security Bulletin KB0135118: Multiple security vulnerabilities affect HCL AION","kind":"advisory","source":"analyst","publisher":null,"text":"HCL Security Bulletin KB0135118 (published 4 Nov 2026): Multiple security vulnerabilities affect HCL AION.\nCVE-2026-21849: missing encryption in the WebSocket connection set up by the GenAI web interface; used ws://localhost:8000 instead of wss://. CVSS 3.7.\nAffected: HCL AION V 2.6.0 (lists CVE-2026-21849). V 2.7.0 is listed only for four other CVEs.\nRemediation: \"As a part of HCL AION v2.8.0, this issue has been remediated. For customers using older version, mitigation path will include upgrade to version 2.8.0 ... HCL AION support team will provide required assistance.\"\n","published_at":null,"relation":"advisory","confidence":null,"note":null}],"exploit_sources":[],"notice":"Free to read, with fair use of about 60 pages a minute. For higher limits or API access: sales@infrastack.ai"}