CVE-2025-22501 in Improve My City Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 03/28/2025
Improper Neutralization of Script-Related HTML Tags in a Web Page (Basic XSS) vulnerability in Improve My City Improve My City allows Reflected XSS. This issue affects Improve My City: from n/a through 1.6.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/28/2025
This vulnerability represents a classic reflected cross-site scripting flaw that resides within the Improve My City web application framework. The issue stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding mechanisms that fail to properly sanitize user-supplied data before rendering it in web page responses. When malicious actors craft specifically formatted requests containing HTML script tags or javascript code, these elements can be executed within the context of other users' browsers who access the vulnerable application. This particular vulnerability falls under the CWE-79 category for improper neutralization of input during web page generation, which is a fundamental weakness in web application security architectures.
The technical exploitation occurs when user input flows directly into HTML output without appropriate sanitization or encoding measures. Attackers can construct malicious URLs containing script payloads that get reflected back to users who click on these links or visit pages with vulnerable parameters. The vulnerability affects versions from the initial release through 1.6, indicating this security gap has persisted across multiple iterations of the application. This reflects poor security practices during development lifecycle phases where input validation and output encoding were not properly implemented or tested.
From an operational perspective, this reflected XSS vulnerability enables attackers to execute malicious scripts in victims' browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or redirection to malicious sites. The impact extends beyond simple data theft as attackers can leverage this weakness to perform actions on behalf of authenticated users, depending on the application's permission model and the specific data being processed. This type of vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it requires minimal user interaction for exploitation and can be delivered through various vectors including email links, chat messages, or compromised websites.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability should focus on implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding strategies throughout the application stack. The recommended approach involves sanitizing all user-supplied data before rendering it in HTML contexts, utilizing proper encoding mechanisms such as HTML entity encoding for special characters, and implementing Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution. Organizations should also consider employing web application firewalls and regular security testing including automated scanning and manual penetration testing to identify similar vulnerabilities. This remediation approach aligns with ATT&CK techniques targeting credential access and command execution through web-based attacks, emphasizing the need for defense in depth strategies. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of following secure coding practices and implementing proper input/output validation as fundamental defenses against common web application threats.