CVE-2025-2589 is a medium severity (CVSS 5.5) improper authorization flaw in code-projects Human Resource Management System 1.0.1. The Index function in handler Account.go trusts the user_cookie value. The record lists no fixed release, so restrict network access, review the code, or retire the application.
What's affected
- Product: code-projects Human Resource Management System, a small Go web application.
- Affected: version 1.0.1, as named in the record.
- Fixed: the record names no fixed release. Check the project page before assuming one exists.
- Entry point: the Index function in
handler/Account.go, through the user_cookie argument. - Access: the vector shows an adjacent network attack vector and a low privilege requirement, so the caller must be on the same network segment and have an account.
- Public information: the record says the exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used.
How to check if you're exposed
Find out whether you run this application. Look at your inventory and your servers for the project name or the Go binary built from it.
Then read the code. In handler/Account.go, find the function named Index and see how it uses the user_cookie value.
grep -n "user_cookie" handler/Account.go
If the function reads the cookie and treats it as proof of identity or role without checking it against a server side session, the flaw is present. A cookie that the client controls cannot be trusted to say who the user is.
Next, review who can reach the application. The vector says adjacent network, so check which segments and which people have access. Review logs for requests that set unusual cookie values or reach the account pages from unexpected addresses.
What to do now
- Decide whether the application is still needed. An unpatched HR system holds personal data and should not run as an unreviewed side project.
- Restrict network access to the smallest set of hosts and people who need it, and put it behind a VPN or an authenticating proxy.
- Change the code so the server keeps session state and checks it, rather than trusting a cookie value from the client.
- Check each user's role and the data they can reach, and remove accounts that are no longer needed.
- Review the data for unexpected changes, and rotate credentials stored by the application.
- Check the project page for any release that addresses the issue.
Why it matters
The weakness is an authorization failure. The code takes the user_cookie value from the request and uses it to decide what the caller may see or do. A value the client can set is not a reliable statement about who the client is.
- CWE-266 is incorrect privilege assignment. A user or role ends up with more access than the design intended.
- CWE-285 is improper authorization. A check exists, but it does not reliably decide whether the caller is allowed to do what they asked.
- CWE-862 is missing authorization. The application performs an action or returns data without checking whether the caller is allowed to.
Three tags appear in the record. They describe the same pattern from different angles: access is granted on weak grounds, the caller ends up with privileges the design did not intend, and the check that should stop them is absent or insufficient. The score is medium because it needs an adjacent network position and a low privilege account. That still matters for an HR system. Staff records, salaries and contact details are among the most sensitive data a small organisation holds, and an insider or a device on the same network is a realistic source of the request.
The durable fix is a server side session. Issue a random session identifier, store the identity and role on the server, and check them on every request.
Quick check
Why is the score only medium?
The vector requires an adjacent network position and a low privilege account. That limits who can try it, but not what they can reach.
What is the safe design?
Keep identity and role on the server in a session, and treat any cookie from the client as an untrusted lookup key, never as a statement of identity.
Sources
Last reviewed: 19 October 2026.
