CVE-2025-11844: XPath Injection in Hugging Face Smolagents search_item_ctrl_f Function

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2025-11844 is a medium (CVSS 5.4) vulnerability in huggingface huggingface/smolagents. EPSS estimates a 0.28% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 20.5% of scored vulnerabilities. 1 public exploit is recorded.

Timeline

1. 22-10-2025
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 22-10-2025
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

Hugging Face Smolagents version 1.20.0 contains an XPath injection vulnerability in the search_item_ctrl_f function located in src/smolagents/vision_web_browser.py. The function constructs an XPath query by directly concatenating user-supplied input into the XPath expression without proper sanitization or escaping. This allows an attacker to inject malicious XPath syntax that can alter the intended query logic. The vulnerability enables attackers to bypass search filters, access unintended DOM elements, and disrupt web automation workflows. This can lead to information disclosure, manipulation of AI agent interactions, and compromise the reliability of automated web tasks. The issue is fixed in version 1.22.0.

• CWE-643Improper Neutralization of Data within XPath ExpressionsThe product uses external input to dynamically construct an XPath expression used to retrieve data from an XML database, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes that input.