CVE-2025-1040 identifies a critical Server-Side Template Injection (SSTI) vulnerability in the significant-gravitas/autogpt project, specifically affecting versions 0.3.4 and earlier. The root cause is improper neutralization of special elements in user-supplied format strings within the AgentOutputBlock implementation. This component passes these untrusted inputs directly to the Jinja2 templating engine without adequate sanitization or escaping, allowing attackers to inject malicious template expressions. Since Jinja2 templates can execute arbitrary Python code, exploitation leads to Remote Code Execution (RCE) on the host system. The vulnerability requires low privileges (PR:L) but no user interaction (UI:N), and can be exploited remotely over the network (AV:N). The CVSS v3.0 base score of 8.8 reflects the high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, as attackers can fully compromise affected systems. Although no known exploits are currently observed in the wild, the vulnerability's nature and ease of exploitation make it a significant threat. The issue is fixed in AutoGPT version 0.4.0, which implements proper input validation and template rendering safeguards.

For European organizations, the exploitation of CVE-2025-1040 could result in severe consequences including unauthorized access to sensitive data, disruption of AI-driven services, and potential full system compromise. Organizations leveraging AutoGPT for automation, research, or business intelligence could face operational downtime and reputational damage. Attackers gaining RCE capabilities can pivot within networks, escalate privileges, and deploy ransomware or espionage tools. The impact is particularly critical for sectors relying on AI workflows such as finance, healthcare, and manufacturing. Additionally, compromised AI systems might produce manipulated outputs, undermining decision-making processes. Given the vulnerability’s remote exploitability and lack of user interaction requirement, the attack surface is broad, increasing risk exposure across European enterprises.

Immediate upgrade to AutoGPT version 0.4.0 or later is the primary mitigation step, as it contains the patch addressing the SSTI vulnerability. Until upgrade is possible, organizations should restrict network access to AutoGPT instances, ideally isolating them within secure environments. Implement strict input validation and sanitization on all user-supplied data before it reaches the template engine. Employ sandboxing techniques or use safer templating configurations that disable code execution features in Jinja2. Monitor logs for suspicious template expressions or unexpected command executions. Conduct thorough code reviews and penetration testing focused on template injection vectors. Additionally, enforce the principle of least privilege for accounts running AutoGPT to limit potential damage from exploitation.