# CVE-2021-27777: HCL Unica Platform is vulnerable to XML External Entity (XXE) injection

> Attackers can exploit XML External Entity injection in HCL Unica Platform to read sensitive data or cause denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 12 May 2022
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-cvfm-9587-3rg8

## What is CVE-2021-27777?

CVE-2021-27777 is a high-severity vulnerability in HCL Unica, published on 12 May 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

XML External Entity (XXE) injection vulnerabilities occur when poorly configured XML parsers process user supplied input without sufficient validation. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability to manipulate XML content and inject malicious external entity references.

Weakness: CWE-611 (Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference), CWE-91 (XML Injection)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-27777?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Hcltech Unica.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-27777?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-27777 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-27777 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-27777 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in HCL Unica

- [CVE-2025-62319](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-62319/): Boolean-Based SQL Injection in Multiple Unica Components (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2023-37497](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-37497/): An XML External Entity (XXE) Injection Vulnerability affects HCL Unica Platform (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2023-37498](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-37498/): HCL Unica Platform is vulnerable to a privilege escalation by unauthorized group assignation (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2023-37499](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-37499/): A Persistent Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability affects HCL Unica Platform (high 8.1)
- [CVE-2023-37500](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-37500/): A Persistent Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability affects HCL Unica Platform (high 8.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-27777 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-27777 is a high-severity vulnerability in HCL Unica, published on 12 May 2022. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-27777 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: HCL Unica. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-27777/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-27777/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-27777
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-27777
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-27777

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-27777/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.