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CVE-2025-53890

CRITICAL

pyLoad vulnerable to XSS through insecure CAPTCHA

Published July 15, 2025Updated June 29, 2026Source: osv

Summary

#### Summary An unsafe JavaScript evaluation vulnerability in pyLoad’s CAPTCHA processing code allows **unauthenticated remote attackers** to execute **arbitrary code** in the client browser and potentially the backend server. Exploitation requires no user interaction or authentication and can result in session hijacking, credential theft, and full system rce. #### Details The vulnerable code resides in ```javascript function onCaptchaResult(result) { eval(result); // Direct execution of attacker-controlled input } ``` * The `onCaptchaResult()` function directly passes CAPTCHA results (sent from the user) into `eval()` * No sanitization or validation is performed on this input * A malicious CAPTCHA result can include JavaScript such as `fetch()` or `child_process.exec()` in environments using NodeJS * Attackers can fully hijack sessions and pivot to remote code execution on the server if the environment allows it ### Reproduction Methods 1. **Official Source Installation**: ```bash git clone https://github.com/pyload/pyload cd pyload git checkout 0.4.20 python -m pip install -e . pyload --userdir=/tmp/pyload ``` 2. **Virtual Environment**: ```bash python -m venv pyload-env source pyload-env/bin/activate pip install pyload==0.4.20 pyload ``` ## CAPTCHA Endpoint Verification **Technical Clarification**: 1. The vulnerable endpoint is actually: ``` /interactive/captcha ``` 2. Complete PoC Request: ```http POST /interactive/captcha HTTP/1.1 Host: localhost:8000 Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded cid=123&response=1%3Balert(document.cookie) ``` 3. Curl Command Correction: ```bash curl -X POST "http://localhost:8000/interactive/captcha" \ -d "cid=123&response=1%3Balert(document.cookie)" ``` 1. **Vulnerable Code Location**: The eval() vulnerability is confirmed in: ``` src/pyload/webui/app/static/js/captcha-interactive.user.js ``` ### **Resources** 1. https://github.com/pyload/pyload/commit/909e5c97885237530d1264cfceb5555870eb9546 2. [OWASP: Avoid `eval()`](https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/JavaScript_Security_Cheat_Sheet.html#eval) 3. [#4586](https://github.com/pyload/pyload/pull/4586)

Remediation

Upgrade to the fixed version using your package manager.

pip
Update pyload-ng to 0.20 or later
pip install "pyload-ng>=0.20"

After upgrading, run your dependency scanner again to confirm the vulnerability is resolved.

Affected Packages (1)

PackageEcosystemAffectedFixed In
pyload-ng
pypi
0.5.0a5.dev528, 0.5.0a5.dev532, 0.5.0a5.dev535, 0.5.0a5.dev536 (+90 more)0.20

Vulnerability Classification

Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) identifiers for this vulnerability type.

  • CWE-79
    Cross-site Scripting (XSS)MITRE
  • CWE-94
    Code InjectionMITRE

CVSS Score Breakdown

What the CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) 9.8 score means for each attack dimension.

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-53890?
pyLoad vulnerable to XSS through insecure CAPTCHA This vulnerability has been assigned a severity rating of CRITICAL (CVSS score: 9.8/10).
How do I check if my project is affected by CVE-2025-53890?
CVE-2025-53890 affects pyload-ng. Use GeekWala's free vulnerability scanner to check your dependencies against CVE-2025-53890 and 200,000+ other known vulnerabilities.

Severity & Exploitability

CVSS Score
9.8

Exploitation is straightforward and causes maximum impact. Patch immediately.

Also Known As

GHSA-8w3f-4r8f-pf53
PYSEC-2026-496

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