External risk intelligence

HireFlow Hardcoded Secret Key Allows Admin Role Forgery

CVE advisorySeverity: CRITICAL (CVSS 10.0)

CVE-2026-45336

HireFlow is described as a web-based management system. Such applications are typically deployed as internet-facing web portals to facilitate remote access for hiring teams and candidates, making them commonly reachable from the public internet in standard deployment patterns.

Halo Surface Signal: 4 out of 5 — likely to be public-facing.

External exposure likelihood

Horizon Alert

Summary of the vulnerability and why it matters

This advisory concerns a critical vulnerability in HireFlow, a web-based interview management system. The flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to bypass authentication by forging session cookies, potentially granting them administrative access to the system. The main concern is confirming if this system is used and exposed, as the potential impact could involve unauthorized access to candidate and hiring data.

Weak security in interview software.
Attackers can gain admin control.
Confirm if this system is in use.

Attack Path

How an attacker could exploit the issue

An unauthenticated attacker could exploit this vulnerability by accessing the HireFlow system over the network. By obtaining the hard-coded secret key from the application's public source code, they can forge session cookies to impersonate an administrator and gain unauthorized access. This could allow them to perform administrative actions within the system.

No authentication required.
Forging session cookies with admin role.
Unauthorized administrative access.

Live Threat

Current exploitation, exposure, and threat context

When supported by the advisory, unauthenticated attackers could forge session cookies to gain administrative access to the HireFlow interview management system, potentially affecting candidate and hiring progress data.

Candidate and hiring data.
Forge session cookies to bypass authentication.
Unauthorized access to sensitive system information.

Operational Fix

Recommended remediation, mitigation, and detection steps

This vulnerability affects HireFlow, a web-based interview management system. The platform owner or the application team is likely responsible for this system. The first step is to identify all instances of HireFlow, determine their reachability and business criticality, and then confirm the accountable owner for remediation planning.

Application owners should lead remediation.
Verify instance reachability and criticality.
Plan and coordinate updates with owners.

Supplementary metadata

CVSS vector

Validate whether this threat affects your internet-facing exposure.

Halo Threat Intelligence helps prioritize remediation with Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context. Start exposure validation with a free external attack surface trial.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the HireFlow software?

HireFlow is a web-based management platform designed to help organizations streamline their recruiting process. It provides tools for teams to manage candidate information, coordinate interview schedules, and track the overall progress of hiring workflows in one central location.

How does CVE-2026-45336 impact authentication?

This vulnerability is classified as Use of Hard-coded Credentials (CWE-798). The application uses a fixed, static secret key to sign session cookies. Because this key is easily discoverable in the public source code, an attacker can create their own valid-looking cookies, effectively bypassing the system's login process to impersonate any user, including administrators.

Do I need to be logged in to trigger this bug?

No. The flaw does not require the attacker to have an existing account or prior access to the system. The vulnerability is triggered remotely by sending a maliciously crafted cookie that the application will mistakenly accept as legitimate because it was signed with the known hard-coded secret key.

Is my HireFlow instance at risk?

According to Halo Surface Signal, HireFlow instances are frequently deployed as internet-facing web portals to enable remote access for global hiring teams and external candidates. If your installation is reachable from the public internet, it faces a higher likelihood of being discovered and targeted by unauthorized actors.

When should I prioritize updating HireFlow?

You should treat this as a high-priority task. Begin by performing an inventory to locate all active HireFlow instances within your environment. Once identified, coordinate with the responsible application owners to upgrade to version 1.3 or later, which resolves the hard-coded key issue and restores secure session management.

References

Written by Nicholas Merritt

Nicholas Merritt is VP of Security Solutions at Halo Security. With more than 25 years across application security, vulnerability prioritization, and offensive security, he helps teams translate threat data into practical exposure validation and remediation focus. He authors Halo Threat Intelligence CVE advisories using Halo Surface Signal and H/A/L/O context to prioritize internet-facing risk.