CVE Alert: CVE-2025-9476 – SourceCodester – Human Resource Information System

Risk verdict

Elevated risk: publicly disclosed PoC enabling remote, unauthenticated unrestricted uploads makes exploitation feasible; respond with urgency.

Why this matters

Unrestricted uploads in an HRIS can lead to web shells, data exfiltration of PII, and potential lateral movement within the server environment. The attack could disrupt HR processes or provide attackers with footholds for deeper access, especially in SMB deployments with internet-facing admin portals.

Most likely attack path

An attacker targets the editemployee_process.php endpoint over the public Internet, sending a crafted employee_file201 payload. With no authentication and low complexity, the uploaded file could be stored and interpreted by the web server, potentially enabling code execution or persistent access. If successful, the attacker may stage further movements within the web server or adjacent systems.

Who is most exposed

Publicly accessible, self-hosted or lightly protected HRIS deployments are most at risk, particularly those used in SMB environments with exposed admin interfaces and lax upload validation.

Detection ideas

• Alert on POST requests to /Superadmin_Dashboard/process/editemployee_process.php with unusual employee_file201 values.
• Detect new or suspicious files appearing in the upload directory, especially PHP or server-side scripts.
• Unusual file types or large, repeated upload attempts from external IPs to the upload endpoint.
• Correlated spikes in admin-page access without prior authentication or unusual userAgent strings.
• WAF/IDS hits for unrestricted upload patterns or known web shell fingerprints.

Mitigation and prioritisation

• Apply vendor patch or hotfix; if unavailable, implement strict input validation and whitelist allowed file types for uploads.
• Disable or tightly control the upload endpoint; require authentication and robust session management for access.
• Restrict execution of files in the upload directory (deny PHP/JS execution; proper permissions).
• Implement server-side file scanning and integrity monitoring; alert on new executable payloads.
• Enforce change-management: test in staging, schedule patching window, and communicate exposure to stakeholders. If KEV/EPSS data indicate active exploitation, prioritise immediately.