CVE-2025-22263 in Global Gallery Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 04/16/2025
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in NotFound Global Gallery allows Reflected XSS. This issue affects Global Gallery: from n/a through 8.8.0.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/16/2025
This vulnerability represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw that exploits improper input validation during web page generation processes. The issue manifests within the NotFound Global Gallery application where user-supplied input is not adequately sanitized before being rendered in web pages, creating an opportunity for malicious actors to inject arbitrary javascript code. The reflected nature of this vulnerability indicates that the malicious payload must be embedded within a URL or request parameter and then reflected back to the victim's browser when they access the crafted link, making it particularly dangerous for social engineering attacks and automated exploitation campaigns.
The technical implementation of this flaw stems from inadequate input sanitization routines within the gallery's web generation framework. When users interact with the application through web interfaces or API endpoints, the system fails to properly neutralize potentially dangerous characters and script sequences that could be interpreted by web browsers as executable code. This vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category of Cross-Site Scripting, specifically representing a reflected XSS variant where the malicious script is reflected off the web server rather than being stored in a database. The vulnerability affects versions ranging from the initial release through 8.8.0, indicating a long-standing issue that has persisted across multiple releases and potentially affected a substantial user base.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or session hijacking, as it provides attackers with the capability to execute arbitrary code within the context of a victim's browser session. This could enable unauthorized access to user accounts, data exfiltration, manipulation of gallery content, or redirection to malicious websites. The reflected nature makes this particularly dangerous in phishing campaigns where attackers can craft malicious URLs that appear legitimate to users, exploiting the trust relationship between users and the gallery application. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to bypass security controls such as content security policies, manipulate user interface elements, and potentially establish persistent access through more sophisticated attack chains.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing robust input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application's web generation pipeline. The most effective approach involves sanitizing all user-supplied input before rendering it in web pages, implementing proper context-aware output encoding for different execution contexts such as html attributes, javascript contexts, and css contexts. Security measures should include deploying content security policies to limit script execution, implementing proper http headers to prevent script injection, and establishing comprehensive input validation routines that filter or escape dangerous characters. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls to detect and block malicious payloads, conduct regular security testing including automated scanning and manual penetration testing, and ensure all systems are updated to the latest patched versions. The remediation process requires careful attention to the application's data flow and execution contexts to prevent similar issues from occurring in other areas of the codebase, following established secure coding practices and principles that align with industry standards such as those defined in the OWASP Top Ten and NIST cybersecurity guidelines.