Overview
We are drawing attention to a critical security vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-44594 that impacts halo v2.20.17 and earlier versions. This vulnerability specifically pertains to a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) in the halo application programming interface (API) endpoint. SSRF vulnerabilities are particularly dangerous because they allow an attacker to make requests to internal resources, potentially leading to system compromise or data leakage. Therefore, getting to grips with this vulnerability and mitigating its potential effects is of paramount importance to any organization running the vulnerable versions of the halo software.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-44594
Severity: Critical, CVSS v3.0 Score: 9.1
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
halo | v2.20.17 and before
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability lies in the “/apis/uc.api.storage.halo.run/v1alpha1/attachments/-/upload-from-url” endpoint of the halo application. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by tricking the server into making a request to an internal resource. This is done by supplying a malicious URL in the POST request to the vulnerable endpoint. The server, unaware of the malicious intent, would then process the request, potentially giving the attacker access to sensitive information or control over the system.
Conceptual Example Code
Below is a conceptual example of how this vulnerability might be exploited using a POST request:
POST /apis/uc.api.storage.halo.run/v1alpha1/attachments/-/upload-from-url HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{ "url": "http://localhost/admin" }In this example, the attacker is forcing the server to make a request to the localhost’s admin page. If the server processes this request, it could expose sensitive information or grant unintended system access to the attacker.
Mitigation Guidance
The best mitigation strategy is to apply the vendor-supplied patch. If this is not possible, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can serve as a temporary mitigation, as they can monitor and block suspicious requests. Furthermore, it is recommended to limit the URLs to which the server can make requests, and to implement proper input validation to reject any potentially malicious URLs.
