CVE-2025-44185 identifies a Cross Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in the SourceCodester Best Employee Management System version 1.0, specifically within the /admin/change_pass.php endpoint that handles password changes. CSRF vulnerabilities occur when an attacker tricks an authenticated user into submitting a forged request to a web application, causing the application to perform an unwanted action on behalf of the user without their consent. In this case, the vulnerability allows an attacker to change the password of an administrative account by exploiting the lack of proper CSRF protections on the password parameter. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.4 (medium severity) reflects that the vulnerability is remotely exploitable over the network (AV:N), requires low attack complexity (AC:L), but does require privileges (PR:L) — meaning the attacker must have some level of authenticated access. No user interaction is needed (UI:N), and the scope is unchanged (S:U). The impact affects confidentiality and integrity to a limited extent (C:L, I:L), but does not affect availability (A:N). The vulnerability is categorized under CWE-352, which is the standard identifier for CSRF issues. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability could allow an attacker with some authenticated access to change passwords of administrative users, potentially leading to account takeover or privilege escalation within the employee management system.

For European organizations using the SourceCodester Best Employee Management System V1.0, this vulnerability poses a moderate risk. Employee management systems typically contain sensitive personal and employment data, and administrative accounts control critical functions such as user management and access control. An attacker exploiting this CSRF vulnerability could change admin passwords, potentially locking out legitimate administrators and gaining unauthorized control over the system. This could lead to unauthorized data access, data modification, or disruption of HR operations. Given the medium CVSS score and the requirement for some level of authenticated access, the threat is more significant in environments where multiple users have administrative privileges or where session management is weak. The lack of user interaction requirement means automated attacks could be feasible once authenticated access is obtained. European organizations must consider the sensitivity of employee data under GDPR and the reputational and regulatory consequences of unauthorized access or data breaches resulting from exploitation of this vulnerability.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should implement robust anti-CSRF protections on all sensitive state-changing endpoints, especially the /admin/change_pass.php page. This includes using synchronizer tokens (CSRF tokens) that are unique per user session and validated on the server side for each request. Additionally, enforcing strict SameSite cookie attributes can help reduce CSRF risks by restricting cross-origin requests. Organizations should also review and minimize the number of users with administrative privileges to reduce the attack surface. Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) for administrative accounts can further protect against unauthorized access even if passwords are changed. Regularly monitoring logs for unusual password change activities and session anomalies can help detect exploitation attempts early. Finally, organizations should seek updates or patches from the vendor or consider applying custom fixes to validate CSRF tokens before processing password changes. If patching is not immediately available, temporarily restricting access to the vulnerable endpoint or requiring re-authentication before password changes can reduce risk.