CVE-2025-11844VulnerabilityPublished 22 Oct 2025

CVE-2025-11844: huggingface/smolagents · Improper Neutralization of Data within XPath Expressions

Affects huggingface/smolagentsSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.4 Medium : upgrade to 1.22.0 when convenient.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.0 base score

5.4Medium

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 20% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 1.22.0

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: Low
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: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
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: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
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: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on 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 22 Oct 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 2026-10-25.

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

Upgrade huggingface/smolagents to 1.22.0.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
GitHubhuggingface/smolagents`pkg:github/huggingface/smolagents`Other threats	Affected =1.20.0 <1.22.0	Fixed in 1.22.0

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should immediately upgrade Hugging Face Smolagents to version 1.22.0 or later, where the issue is fixed. In addition to patching, developers should implement strict input validation and sanitization routines for any user-supplied data incorporated into XPath queries, employing parameterized XPath queries or safe XPath libraries that prevent injection. Conduct thorough code reviews focusing on XPath query construction and test for injection vectors. Employ runtime monitoring to detect anomalous XPath query patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. For organizations integrating Smolagents into larger systems, isolate the component to limit potential impact and apply the principle of least privilege to reduce data exposure. Finally, maintain an updated inventory of affected software versions and ensure rapid deployment of security updates.

Description

CVE-2025-11844 is an XPath injection vulnerability in Hugging Face's Smolagents version 1.20.0, specifically in the search_item_ctrl_f function. The vulnerability arises from unsanitized user input being directly concatenated into XPath queries, allowing attackers to manipulate query logic. Exploitation can bypass search filters, access unintended DOM elements, and disrupt automated web tasks, potentially leading to information disclosure and manipulation of AI agent interactions. The flaw is fixed in version 1.22.0. The CVSS score is 5.4 (medium severity), with no known exploits in the wild.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of this vulnerability can be significant, especially for those leveraging Hugging Face Smolagents in AI-driven automation, web scraping, or data extraction tasks. Exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data embedded in web pages or automation workflows, potentially exposing confidential information. Manipulation of AI agent interactions could degrade the integrity and reliability of automated processes, affecting business operations that depend on accurate data retrieval and processing. While the vulnerability does not directly cause system downtime, disruption of automated workflows can lead to operational inefficiencies and increased risk of erroneous decision-making. Organizations in sectors such as finance, healthcare, research, and technology that utilize AI automation tools are particularly at risk. The medium severity score indicates a moderate risk that should be addressed promptly to prevent escalation or chaining with other vulnerabilities.

CWE-643Improper Neutralization of Data within XPath Expressions ('XPath Injection') (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighOWASP Top 10 A05:2025: Injection (opens in a new tab)
The product uses external input to dynamically construct an XPath expression used to retrieve data from an XML database, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes that input. This allows an attacker to control the structure of the query.
Implementation
Use parameterized XPath queries (e.g. using XQuery). This will help ensure separation between data plane and control plane.
Implementation
Properly validate user input. Reject data where appropriate, filter where appropriate and escape where appropriate. Make sure input that will be used in XPath queries is safe in that context.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
XML External Entity Prevention (opens in a new tab)
Injection Prevention (opens in a new tab)
Injection Prevention in Java (opens in a new tab)
Abuse Case (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V5.3.10 (opens in a new tab)
V1.5.1 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 29 Oct 2025, 13:57 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-643

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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