CVE-2025-23905 in Admin Options Pages Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 02/14/2025
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in Johannes van Poelgeest Admin Options Pages allows Reflected XSS. This issue affects Admin Options Pages: from n/a through 0.9.7.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/14/2025
This vulnerability represents a classic cross-site scripting flaw that resides within the web application's input handling mechanisms, specifically affecting the Admin Options Pages component developed by Johannes van Poelgeest. The issue manifests as an improper neutralization of input data during web page generation processes, creating a pathway for malicious actors to inject and execute arbitrary scripts within the context of affected user sessions. The vulnerability is classified as reflected XSS, meaning that malicious input is reflected back to users through the application's response without adequate sanitization or encoding measures.
The technical flaw occurs when user-supplied input is directly incorporated into dynamically generated web pages without proper validation and sanitization. This allows attackers to craft malicious payloads that, when executed, can steal session cookies, redirect users to malicious sites, or perform unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users. The vulnerability spans versions from n/a through 0.9.7, indicating a broad range of affected releases that likely share common input processing routines. This reflects a fundamental weakness in the application's security architecture where input validation and output encoding are not consistently applied across the application's components.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant as it can be exploited by remote attackers without requiring authentication, potentially leading to complete compromise of user sessions and administrative privileges. Attackers can craft malicious URLs containing XSS payloads that, when clicked by an authenticated administrator, would execute scripts in the administrator's browser context. This creates a serious risk for organizations relying on this plugin, as successful exploitation could lead to privilege escalation, data exfiltration, and persistent access to systems. The reflected nature of the vulnerability means that attackers can deliver payloads through various vectors including email phishing, compromised websites, or social engineering campaigns.
Mitigation strategies should focus on implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the application's codebase. The most effective approach involves applying proper HTML escaping and context-appropriate encoding to all user-supplied input before rendering it in web pages. This aligns with CWE-79 which specifically addresses cross-site scripting vulnerabilities and recommends defensive programming practices including input validation, output encoding, and the use of security headers. Organizations should also implement content security policies to add additional layers of protection against script execution. Regular security updates and patch management processes are essential to address such vulnerabilities promptly, as the affected version range suggests this issue has persisted across multiple releases. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under T1566 for initial access through social engineering and T1071 for application layer protocols, highlighting the multi-faceted attack surface that such vulnerabilities create.