Hydra has persistent XSS vulnerability serving HTML build outputs
Hydra is a Continuous Integration service for Nix based projects. Attackers can execute arbitrary code in the browser context of Hydra and execute authenticated HTTP requests. The abused feature allows Nix builds to specify files that Hydra serves to clients. One use of this functionality is serving NixOS `.iso` files. The issue is only with html files served by Hydra. The issue has been patched on https://hydra.nixos.org around 2024-04-21 14:30 UTC. The nixpkgs package were fixed in unstable and 23.11. Users with custom Hydra packages can apply the fix commit to their local installations. The vulnerability is only triggered when opening HTML build artifacts, so not opening them until the vulnerability is fixed works around the issue.
- Published
- Apr 22, 2024
- Updated
- Jun 17, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.5% · 38th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-79
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Report tools
Action score
21
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 21 / 40 · 5.4 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.5%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- yes
- Technical impact
- partial
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- 5.4
- CNA · GitHub_M
- 4.6
- 0.8 point gap
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for the hundreds of thousands of vulnerabilities in the database; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| nixos | hydra | cpe:2.3:a:nixos:hydra |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- nixos hydrabefore 23.11
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (GitHub_M). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
NixOS hydra
- < b72528be5074f3e62e9ae2c2ae8ef9c07a0b4dd3, < 23.11affected
Same product
nixos: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2024-45049Nix Hydra Missing authentication when triggering evaluations30Monitor
- CVE-2025-54800Hydra persistent XSS in build metrics28Monitor
- CVE-2025-54864Hydra missing authentication when triggering evaluations through GitHub and Gitea plugins27Monitor
- CVE-2025-32435Hydra no restricted eval after nix-eval-jobs migration10Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
No fix version is recorded for this entry. Check the references for vendor advisories.
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
- CVE-2025-54800477 days apartHydra persistent XSS in build metrics28Monitor
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
- CVE-2024-45049127 days apartNix Hydra Missing authentication when triggering evaluations30Monitor
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- A low-privileged account is enough.
- A user must open a link or visit a page.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- low · data can be read
- Integrity
- low · data or configuration can be modified
- Availability
- none
Impact can extend beyond the vulnerable component (scope changes).
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality impact
- Low
- Integrity impact
- Low
- Availability impact
- None
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-79 · Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
nvd-primary
Root cause
User content is inserted into the page as HTML. The browser interprets the content as code rather than data.
The bug in code
The whole CWE-79 classA representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.
Vulnerable
commentEl.innerHTML = comment.body;Fixed
commentEl.textContent = comment.body;Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
ATT&CK techniques
—
Change log
No changes recorded on tracked fields yet. Score, KEV, exploit maturity and fix status changes appear here.
References
- github.com/NixOS/hydra/commit/b72528be5074f3e62e9ae2c2ae8ef9c07a0b4dd3
- github.com/NixOS/hydra/security/advisories/GHSA-2p75-6g9f-pqgx
- github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/pull/306017
- github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/pull/306018
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.