Tandoor Recipes is a popular recipe management platform used by cooking enthusiasts and professional chefs to organize recipes, manage meal planning, and create grocery lists. Businesses also leverage it for streamlined kitchen operations, ensuring efficiency and consistency in culinary processes. The software's flexibility and extensive feature set cater to a wide range of users, including individual households, food bloggers, and culinary schools. With extensive API support, Tandoor Recipes enables integrations with other services, amplifying its utility in complex cooking environments. Tandoor's user-driven interface makes it accessible and appealing to both novice cooks and culinary experts.
The Server Side Template Injection (SSTI) vulnerability found in Tandoor Recipes allows attackers to inject and execute malicious Jinja2 template expressions. Such vulnerabilities are critical as they can lead to arbitrary code execution by improperly handling dynamic content rendering. This weakness primarily arises from inadequate validation and escaping of user inputs processed by the server. When exploited, malicious actors can perform a variety of damaging actions, ranging from data manipulation to server compromise. The vulnerability poses significant security risks, emphasizing the need for prompt mitigation strategies to protect sensitive server resources.
The vulnerability is rooted in Tandoor Recipes' handling of recipe steps, where Jinja2 template expressions can be injected. Attackers exploit this by crafting specific expressions that force the server to execute arbitrary code. This is commonly achieved via dynamically generated content that lacks sufficient sanitation before execution in the templating environment. The exploitation occurs when user inputs directly interface with the template rendering engine, bypassing any intended security checks. Malicious actors can leverage these attack vectors to introduce commands leading to unauthorized operations and server control escalation.
When exploited, this vulnerability can lead to severe impacts including complete server control, unauthorized data access, and possible data breaches. Attackers gain the ability to execute arbitrary commands, enabling them to manipulate server configurations, exfiltrate data, or deploy persistent threats within the affected infrastructure. Privilege escalation is also a tangible risk, allowing attackers to pivot or traverse through networked environments, escalating the attack's reach and effectiveness. Consequently, organizations are exposed to severe operational disruptions, data loss, and potential reputational damage.
REFERENCES
- https://github.com/TandoorRecipes/recipes/blob/4f9bff20c858180d0f7376de443a9fe4c123a50c/cookbook/helper/template_helper.py#L95
- https://github.com/TandoorRecipes/recipes/commit/e6087d5129cc9d0c24278948872377e66c2a2c20
- https://github.com/TandoorRecipes/recipes/security/advisories/GHSA-r6rj-h75w-vj8v
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-23211
- Update to Tandoor Recipes version 1.5.24 or later to ensure the latest security patches are applied.
- Implement strict input validation and sanitization across all endpoints to prevent injection attacks.
- Employ web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious input patterns.
- Regularly audit code and configurations for security weaknesses and vulnerabilities.
- Educate development and operational teams on secure coding practices and template handling.
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