CVE-2024-8238VulnerabilityPublished 20 Mar 2025Updated 15 Oct 2025

CVE-2024-8238: aimhubio/aim · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements Used in a Template Engine

Affects aimhubio/aimSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.9 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 07:57 UTC

CVSS 3.0 base score

5.9Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.7% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 55% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: High
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: High: A successful attack depends on conditions beyond the attacker's control. That is, a successful attack cannot be accomplished at will, but requires the attacker to invest in some measurable amount of effort in preparation or execution against the vulnerable component before a successful attack can be expected. For example, a successful attack may require an attacker to: gather knowledge about the environment in which the vulnerable target/component exists; prepare the target environment to improve exploit reliability; or inject themselves into the logical network path between the target and the resource requested by the victim in order to read and/or modify network communications (e.g., a man in the middle attack).
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 20 Mar 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
PyPIaimhubio/aim`pkg:pypi/aimhubio/aim`Other threats	Affected =3.22.0	Fixed in–

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AI-suggested

1. Upgrade aimhubio/aim to a version that patches this vulnerability once available. 2. Until a patch is released, restrict network access to Aim servers to trusted internal networks only, using firewalls and VPNs. 3. Implement strict file system permissions to prevent unauthorized users from writing files to locations accessible by the Aim server, mitigating the risk of malicious shared library loading. 4. Monitor Aim server logs and network traffic for unusual activity indicative of exploitation attempts, such as unexpected file writes or suspicious query patterns leveraging str.format_map(). 5. Employ runtime application self-protection (RASP) or endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools to detect and block anomalous code execution behaviors. 6. Conduct regular security audits of AI/ML infrastructure and ensure secrets are stored securely, minimizing exposure if environment variables are leaked. 7. Educate developers and administrators about the risks of using outdated sandboxing libraries and encourage secure coding practices when integrating third-party components.

Description

In version 3.22.0 of aimhubio/aim, the AimQL query language uses an outdated version of the safer_getattr() function from RestrictedPython. This version does not protect against the str.format_map() method, allowing an attacker to leak server-side secrets or potentially gain unrestricted code execution. The vulnerability arises because str.format_map() can read arbitrary attributes of Python objects, enabling attackers to access sensitive variables such as os.environ. If an attacker can write files to a known location on the Aim server, they can use str.format_map() to load a malicious .dll/.so file into the Python interpreter, leading to unrestricted code execution.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a dual risk: unauthorized disclosure of sensitive environment variables or secrets and potential full system compromise via remote code execution. Organizations using aimhubio/aim in AI/ML workflows that handle confidential data, intellectual property, or personal data protected under GDPR could face data breaches leading to regulatory penalties and reputational damage. The ability to execute arbitrary code remotely could allow attackers to pivot within networks, deploy ransomware, or exfiltrate data. Since the vulnerability can be exploited remotely without authentication, exposed Aim servers or those accessible by untrusted users are particularly vulnerable. The medium CVSS score reflects the higher complexity but significant confidentiality impact. European sectors with critical AI infrastructure, research institutions, and cloud service providers using aimhubio/aim are at elevated risk.

CWE-1336Improper Neutralization of Special Elements Used in a Template Engine (opens in a new tab)
Base weakness
The product uses a template engine to insert or process externally-influenced input, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements or syntax that can be interpreted as template expressions or other code directives when processed by the engine.
Architecture and Design
Choose a template engine that offers a sandbox or restricted mode, or at least limits the power of any available expressions, function calls, or commands.
Implementation
Use the template engine's sandbox or restricted mode, if available.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Abuse Case (opens in a new tab)
Deserialization (opens in a new tab)
Server Side Request Forgery Prevention (opens in a new tab)
Unvalidated Redirects and Forwards (opens in a new tab)
Cross Site Scripting Prevention (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V1.5.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.2.8 (opens in a new tab)
V5.2.5 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

huntr.com/bounties/4e140ef9-f6d1-4e68-a44c-3b9e856924d3 (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 15 Oct 2025, 13:20 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-1336

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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