CVE-2025-22650 in Smartarget Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 02/18/2025
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Erez Hadas-Sonnenschein Smartarget allows Stored XSS. This issue affects Smartarget: from n/a through 1.4.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/18/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-22650 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the Smartarget web application developed by Erez Hadas-Sonnenschein. This stored XSS vulnerability occurs during the web page generation process where input data is inadequately sanitized or neutralized before being rendered in web pages. The flaw allows attackers to inject malicious scripts that persist in the application's database and execute whenever users view affected pages, making it particularly dangerous for user data and application integrity.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding mechanisms within the Smartarget application's web generation pipeline. When user-supplied data is processed and stored without proper sanitization, malicious payloads can be injected into database fields that are later retrieved and displayed in web interfaces. This stored nature of the vulnerability means that once an attacker successfully injects malicious code, it remains persistent and affects all users who encounter the compromised content. The vulnerability affects all versions of Smartarget from the initial release through version 1.4, indicating a long-standing issue in the application's security architecture.
From an operational standpoint, this vulnerability presents significant risks to organizations using Smartarget for web content management or user interaction. Attackers can exploit this flaw to steal user sessions, perform unauthorized actions on behalf of victims, redirect users to malicious sites, or extract sensitive information from authenticated sessions. The stored nature of the XSS attack means that the impact can compound over time as more users interact with compromised content, potentially leading to widespread data breaches or unauthorized access to sensitive application features. Security professionals should consider this vulnerability in the context of the attack chain that leads to persistent web-based attacks, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1566.001 for credential harvesting through phishing.
The root cause of this vulnerability maps directly to CWE-79 which defines Cross-site Scripting as a weakness occurring when untrusted data is sent to a web browser without proper validation or encoding. This specific implementation flaw demonstrates poor input sanitization practices and inadequate output encoding mechanisms that are fundamental security controls in web application development. Organizations should implement comprehensive mitigations including strict input validation, proper output encoding, Content Security Policy implementation, and regular security testing to address this class of vulnerability. The vulnerability also aligns with OWASP Top Ten 2021 category A03: Injection, highlighting the need for robust data validation and sanitization practices throughout the application lifecycle. Organizations using affected versions of Smartarget should immediately implement patch updates or alternative security measures to prevent exploitation while conducting thorough security assessments to identify any potential compromise of user data or application integrity.