VulnerabilityPublished 22 Jan 2026

CVE-2026-24038: horilla · Improper Authentication

Affects horillaSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.1 High : upgrade to 1.5.0 soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 10:12 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

8.1High

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

EPSS: 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 41% 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:H/I:H/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
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: 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: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to 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 26 Oct 2026.

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 or the CVSS exploit maturity 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 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–

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

AI-suggested

Immediate upgrade to Horilla version 1.5.0 or later, which contains the fix for the OTP bypass vulnerability.
If upgrading is not immediately possible, implement compensating controls such as disabling 2FA temporarily and enforcing strict password policies, though this reduces security and should be temporary.
Conduct thorough audits of authentication logs to detect anomalous login attempts, especially those missing OTP fields or showing unusual patterns.
Restrict network access to the HRMS application to trusted IP ranges or via VPN to reduce exposure to remote attackers.
Implement multi-layered authentication mechanisms beyond OTP, such as hardware tokens or biometric verification, to increase resilience.
Educate HR and IT staff about the vulnerability and signs of exploitation to enhance detection capabilities.
Regularly review and update incident response plans to include scenarios involving HRMS compromise.
Monitor threat intelligence feeds for any emerging exploits targeting this vulnerability to respond promptly.

Description

CVE-2026-24038 is a high-severity improper authentication vulnerability in Horilla HRMS versions 1.4.0 up to but not including 1.5.0. The flaw lies in the OTP verification logic where an expired OTP returns None, and if the attacker omits the OTP field in their request, the comparison incorrectly succeeds, allowing bypass of two-factor authentication. This enables attackers to access accounts without valid OTPs, potentially compromising administrative accounts and sensitive HR data. The vulnerability does not require user interaction but requires some level of privileges (PR:L). No known exploits are currently reported in the wild. The issue has been fixed in version 1.

Impact

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2026-24038 can be severe. HRMS platforms like Horilla store sensitive personal data, including employee identities, payroll, benefits, and performance records. Unauthorized access through 2FA bypass could lead to data breaches violating GDPR regulations, resulting in legal penalties and reputational damage. Attackers gaining administrative access could manipulate employee records, causing operational disruptions, payroll fraud, or insider threat activities. The integrity of HR data is critical for compliance and organizational trust; thus, exploitation could undermine these foundations. Additionally, compromised HRMS credentials might be leveraged for broader network access, enabling further attacks on corporate infrastructure. The vulnerability’s network-exploitable nature means attackers can attempt exploitation remotely, increasing risk for organizations with externally accessible HRMS portals. Given the high confidentiality and integrity impact, European companies must treat this vulnerability as a priority to avoid regulatory and operational consequences.

CWE-287Improper Authentication (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighOWASP Top 10 A07:2025: Authentication Failures (opens in a new tab)
When an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct.
MITRE discourages mapping vulnerabilities to this broad entry; the root cause is usually a more specific weakness.
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use an authentication framework or library such as the OWASP ESAPI Authentication feature.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
OWASP Authentication (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V2.8.5 (opens in a new tab)
V2.8.4 (opens in a new tab)
V9.2.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Fake the Source of Data (opens in a new tab)
Utilizing REST's Trust in the System Resource to Obtain Sensitive Data (opens in a new tab)
Session Hijacking (opens in a new tab)
Token Impersonation (opens in a new tab)
Upload a Web Shell to a Web Server (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 29 Jan 2026, 08:55 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-287

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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