CVE-2025-22795 in Multilang Contact Form Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 01/15/2025
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Thorsten Krug Multilang Contact Form allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Multilang Contact Form: from n/a through 1.5.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/10/2025
This vulnerability represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw that exploits improper input sanitization during web page generation processes. The issue resides within the Thorsten Krug Multilang Contact Form plugin where user-supplied data is not adequately neutralized before being rendered back to web browsers. This allows attackers to inject malicious scripts that execute in the context of other users' browsers when they view affected pages. The vulnerability specifically manifests as reflected cross-site scripting, meaning the malicious payload is reflected off the web server back to the user's browser without being stored. This type of vulnerability falls under CWE-79 which defines improper neutralization of input during web page generation as a critical weakness in web applications. The affected version range indicates that all versions from the initial release through 1.5 are vulnerable, suggesting this flaw has persisted for an extended period without proper remediation. The reflected nature of this XSS vulnerability means that attackers can craft malicious URLs containing script payloads that, when clicked by victims, will execute the injected code in the victim's browser context. This creates a significant security risk for websites using this plugin, as any user who visits a page containing the vulnerable contact form could potentially be compromised. The attack typically involves sending a malicious link to a victim through phishing emails, social engineering, or by placing the link on compromised websites where users might click through to execute the malicious script.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as reflected XSS can enable various malicious activities including session hijacking, credential theft, and redirection to malicious sites. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to steal cookies, modify page content, or perform actions on behalf of authenticated users. The severity of this issue increases when considering that contact forms are commonly accessed by website administrators and users who may have elevated privileges, potentially allowing attackers to escalate their privileges or access sensitive information. From an attack framework perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 which covers spearphishing and social engineering attacks that can be facilitated through XSS vulnerabilities. The fact that this vulnerability affects a contact form plugin suggests that it could be exploited in targeted attacks against specific websites where the plugin is installed, making it particularly dangerous for organizations that rely on this type of user interaction component. The lack of version specificity in the affected range indicates that this vulnerability may have been introduced early in the plugin's development lifecycle and was not properly addressed through input validation or output encoding mechanisms.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper input validation and output encoding measures to prevent malicious scripts from being executed in the browser context. The most effective immediate solution involves applying input sanitization techniques that strip or encode potentially dangerous characters before rendering user data in web pages. This includes implementing proper HTML entity encoding for output that contains user-supplied content, which is a fundamental defense mechanism against XSS attacks according to OWASP recommendations. Security patches should be applied immediately to update the plugin to a version that properly addresses the input neutralization issue, with the development team implementing proper validation and sanitization routines for all user inputs. Organizations should also consider implementing Content Security Policy headers to add an additional layer of protection against script execution, though this should not be considered a substitute for proper input validation. Regular security audits of web applications should include checks for similar input handling vulnerabilities, particularly in components that process user-generated content such as contact forms, comment sections, and other interactive elements. The vulnerability also highlights the importance of maintaining up-to-date software components and implementing automated security scanning processes that can identify such flaws before they can be exploited in the wild. Additionally, implementing proper logging and monitoring for suspicious input patterns can help detect exploitation attempts and provide early warning of potential attacks targeting this specific vulnerability.