CVE-2026-24035VulnerabilityPublished 22 Jan 2026

CVE-2026-24035: horilla · Improper Access Control

Affects horillaSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.3 Medium : upgrade to 1.5.0 when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.3Medium

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

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 24% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 1.5.0

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
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: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
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: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within 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 Jan 2026
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

Upgrade horilla and horilla-opensource/horilla to 1.5.0.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
horilla-opensourcehorilla	Affected >=1.4.0 <1.5.0	Fixed in 1.5.0
GitHubhorilla-opensource/horilla`pkg:github/horilla-opensource/horilla`Other threats	Affected >=1.4.0 <1.5.0	Fixed in 1.5.0

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

AI-suggested

The primary mitigation is to upgrade Horilla installations to version 1.5.0 or later, where the vulnerability is fixed with proper server-side validation of the employee_id parameter. Until upgrade is possible, organizations should implement strict access controls limiting document upload permissions to authorized personnel only. Monitoring and logging of document upload activities should be enhanced to detect anomalous behavior, such as uploads associated with employee IDs different from the authenticated user. Conduct regular audits of employee documents to identify unauthorized uploads. Employ multi-factor authentication to reduce the risk of compromised credentials being used to exploit this vulnerability. Additionally, consider implementing application-layer firewalls or reverse proxies with rules to validate request parameters where feasible. Employee training on security best practices and awareness of insider threats can also reduce risk. Finally, coordinate with the Horilla open-source community to stay informed about patches and security advisories.

Description

CVE-2026-24035 is an improper access control vulnerability in Horilla HRMS versions 1.4.0 up to but not including 1.5.0. It allows any authenticated employee to upload documents on behalf of other employees due to insufficient server-side validation of the employee_id parameter during file uploads. This flaw does not require user interaction beyond authentication and does not impact confidentiality or availability but can affect data integrity. The vulnerability has a CVSS score of 4.3 (medium severity) and is fixed in version 1.5.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability could lead to unauthorized document uploads within HR systems, potentially compromising the integrity of employee records. This may result in inaccurate personnel files, compliance violations with data governance policies such as GDPR, and internal trust issues. While confidentiality is not directly impacted, the presence of unauthorized documents could mislead HR decisions or audits. The vulnerability could also be exploited for social engineering or internal sabotage by uploading misleading or malicious documents. Organizations with large workforces and decentralized HR management are at higher risk. The impact is more significant in sectors with strict regulatory compliance requirements, such as finance, healthcare, and government agencies. Since the vulnerability requires only authenticated access, insider threats or compromised employee credentials increase the risk. The lack of known exploits reduces immediate urgency but does not eliminate the potential for future abuse.

CWE-284Improper Access Control (opens in a new tab)
Pillar weaknessCWE Top 25 (2025): #19OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor.
MITRE discourages mapping vulnerabilities to this broad entry; the root cause is usually a more specific weakness.
Architecture and Design · Operation
Very carefully manage the setting, management, and handling of privileges. Explicitly manage trust zones in the software.
Architecture and Design · Separation of Privilege
Compartmentalize the system to have "safe" areas where trust boundaries can be unambiguously drawn. Do not allow sensitive data to go outside of the trust boundary and always be careful when interfacing with a compartment outside of the safe area.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Docker Security (opens in a new tab)
Third Party Javascript Management (opens in a new tab)
Virtual Patching (opens in a new tab)
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V1.4.4 (opens in a new tab)
V1.4.5 (opens in a new tab)
V1.10.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Embedding Scripts within Scripts (opens in a new tab)
Modification of Windows Service Configuration (opens in a new tab)
Malicious Root Certificate (opens in a new tab)
Intent Spoof (opens in a new tab)
WebView Exposure (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 Jan 2026, 08:55 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-284

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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