CVE-2024-23574: HCL Aftermarket EPC Auth Bypass Flaw

CVE-2024-23574 Overview

CVE-2024-23574 affects HCL Aftermarket EPC and allows a remote unauthenticated attacker to enumerate valid user accounts through brute-force techniques. The application returns responses that let an attacker distinguish between valid and invalid usernames. This response discrepancy enables account enumeration, which supports downstream attacks such as credential stuffing and targeted password spraying. The issue is classified under CWE-204: Observable Response Discrepancy.

Critical Impact
Unauthenticated attackers can confirm valid usernames in HCL Aftermarket EPC over the network without user interaction, providing a foothold for follow-on credential attacks.

Affected Products

HCL Aftermarket EPC
Specific version ranges are not enumerated in the published NVD record
Refer to the vendor advisory for supported and fixed builds

Discovery Timeline

2026-07-17 - CVE-2024-23574 published to NVD
2026-07-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-23574

Vulnerability Analysis

HCL Aftermarket EPC exposes an authentication or user-lookup interface that produces observably different responses when a submitted identifier corresponds to an existing account versus a non-existent one. An attacker sending a large volume of login or user-check requests can compare status codes, response bodies, timing, or error messages to determine which usernames are valid. The vulnerability does not directly compromise credentials or data integrity. It exposes only account existence information, which lowers the cost of subsequent authentication attacks. Because the flaw is reachable over the network without authentication and requires no user interaction, automated scanners can enumerate accounts at scale.

Root Cause

The root cause is an observable response discrepancy [CWE-204] in the authentication or account-lookup workflow. The application returns distinct signals for valid and invalid users rather than a uniform generic response. This behavior violates the principle that authentication endpoints should never disclose whether a specific identifier exists.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based and requires no privileges or user interaction. An attacker scripts requests against the login, password-reset, or user-lookup endpoint and iterates through a candidate username list. By comparing responses, the attacker builds a list of confirmed accounts for later credential-based attacks.

No verified public exploit code is available for CVE-2024-23574. Refer to the HCL Software Knowledge Base Article for vendor-provided technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-23574

Indicators of Compromise

High volumes of authentication or password-reset requests originating from a single source or a small set of source IPs against HCL Aftermarket EPC endpoints.
Sequential or dictionary-ordered username submissions within short time windows.
Requests producing repeated "user not found" versus "invalid password" response patterns from the same client.

Detection Strategies

Instrument web application firewall (WAF) rules to alert on repeated authentication requests exceeding a defined per-source threshold.
Correlate login endpoint access logs to identify enumeration patterns based on response codes and timing.
Baseline normal login request rates for HCL Aftermarket EPC and alert on statistical deviations.

Monitoring Recommendations

Forward HCL Aftermarket EPC application and access logs to a centralized SIEM for correlation and long-term analysis.
Monitor authentication endpoints for distributed enumeration attempts using low-and-slow request patterns across multiple source IPs.
Track failed authentication trends per user account and per source IP to surface enumeration or credential-stuffing precursors.

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-23574

Immediate Actions Required

Apply vendor guidance from the HCL Software Knowledge Base Article as soon as it is available in your environment.
Restrict network exposure of HCL Aftermarket EPC authentication endpoints to trusted networks or VPN users where feasible.
Enforce rate limiting and account lockout thresholds on all authentication and password-reset endpoints.

Patch Information

HCL has published remediation guidance in the HCL Software Knowledge Base Article KB0132294. Administrators should consult the article for fixed versions and configuration changes required to eliminate the observable response discrepancy.

Workarounds

Place HCL Aftermarket EPC behind a WAF or reverse proxy that normalizes authentication responses and returns generic error messages.
Implement CAPTCHA or progressive delays on repeated failed authentication attempts to slow enumeration.
Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) so that enumerated usernames alone are insufficient to gain access.

bash

# Example rate-limit configuration for an NGINX reverse proxy fronting HCL Aftermarket EPC
limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=epc_login:10m rate=5r/m;

server {
    location /login {
        limit_req zone=epc_login burst=5 nodelay;
        proxy_pass http://aftermarket_epc_backend;
    }
}