Overview
A high-severity vulnerability with a CVSS score of 9.8, identified as CVE-2025-26074, has been discovered in Orkes Conductor v3.21.11. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary Operating System (OS) commands through unrestricted access to Java classes. Given the pervasiveness of Java and the wide use of Orkes Conductor in managing complex orchestration tasks, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to organizations globally. If exploited, it could lead to total system compromise or data leakages, severely impacting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected systems.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-26074
Severity: Critical (9.8 CVSS Score)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
Escape the Surveillance Era
Most apps won’t tell you the truth.
They’re part of the problem.
Phone numbers. Emails. Profiles. Logs.
It’s all fuel for surveillance.
Ameeba Chat gives you a way out.
- • No phone number
- • No email
- • No personal info
- • Anonymous aliases
- • End-to-end encrypted
Chat without a trace.
Product | Affected Versions
Orkes Conductor | v3.21.11
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability resides in the unrestricted access to Java classes within Orkes Conductor v3.21.11. An attacker can exploit this by sending specially crafted requests to the server, which would not properly sanitize or restrict the input. This allows execution of arbitrary OS commands with the privilege level of the user running the vulnerable application. In a worst-case scenario, if the application is running with administrative or root-level privileges, an attacker could gain full control over the system.
Conceptual Example Code
The following is a simplified conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited. This is not working exploit code, but an illustration of the type of request an attacker might send.
POST /vulnerable/javaClass HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{ "java_class": "java.lang.Runtime", "method": "exec", "args": ["arbitrary_os_command"] }In this example, the attacker submits a JSON payload specifying a Java class (`java.lang.Runtime`), a method of that class (`exec`), and arguments for the method (`arbitrary_os_command`). The server, failing to properly restrict access to Java classes or sanitize the input, would then execute the specified OS command.
Countermeasures and Mitigation
Orkes has released a patch to address this vulnerability in the affected version of Orkes Conductor. All users are advised to apply this patch as soon as possible. If immediate patching is not feasible, organizations can use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) to detect and block attempts to exploit this vulnerability. However, these are temporary measures and may not fully protect against all possible attack vectors. Therefore, patching should remain a priority.