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Public proof of conceptFix available

CVE-2025-48868

A public proof of concept exists; no exploitation attested.

  • Published2025-09-24
  • WeaknessCWE-95

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

Description

Horilla is a free and open source Human Resource Management System (HRMS). An authenticated Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability exists in Horilla 1.3.0 due to the unsafe use of Python’s eval() function on a user-controlled query parameter in the project_bulk_archive view. This allows privileged users (e.g., administrators) to execute arbitrary system commands on the server. While having Django’s DEBUG=True makes exploitation visibly easier by returning command output in the HTTP response, this is not required. The vulnerability can still be exploited in DEBUG=False mode by using blind payloads such as a reverse shell, leading to full remote code execution. This issue has been patched in version 1.3.1.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2026-04-08Exploit-DB entryExploit-DB

Versions per branch

NVD
Horilla
BranchAffectedFixed in
1.3= 1.3no fix published

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Products declared by the CNA1 product

As GitHub_M, the CNA that assigned this CVE, declared them in the CVE record; versions as written.

  • horilla-opensource horilla
    Affected
    • = = 1.3.0no fix stated

Source: the CNA record (CVE Program), © The MITRE Corporation,CVE Terms of UseCVE recordupdated 2025-09-24

Fix

Advisories and patches

Detection

read 2026-11-09 09:28 UTC
Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
EDB-52497
Exploit-DB
Proof of concept
Metasploit modules
none listed
Metasploit Framework

Sources

  • NVDCVE recordread 2026-10-23
  • CISA-ADPSSVC decisionpoc2025-09-24
  • CNACVSS 3.17.2known since 2026-10-23
  • CNAweakness (CWE)CWE-95known since 2026-10-23
  • FIRST EPSSEPSS score2.5 %2026-11-08
  • Exploit-DBdetectionread 2026-11-09

Identifiers

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published
2025-09-24
Last Modified
2026-09-26
NVD status
Analyzed

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-48868?

Horilla is a free and open source Human Resource Management System (HRMS). An authenticated Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability exists in Horilla 1.3.0 due to the unsafe use of Python’s eval() function on a user-controlled query parameter in the project_bulk_archive view. This allows privileged users (e.g., administrators) to execute arbitrary system commands on the server. While having Django’s DEBUG=True makes exploitation visibly easier by returning command output in the HTTP response, this is not required. The vulnerability can still be exploited in DEBUG=False mode by using blind payloads such as a reverse shell, leading to full remote code execution. This issue has been patched in version 1.3.1.

Is CVE-2025-48868 actively exploited?

A proof-of-concept exploit exists for CVE-2025-48868, but active exploitation has not been confirmed at this time.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2025-48868?

CVE-2025-48868 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.2 (HIGH severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

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