CVE-2025-24629 in Import Excel to Gravity Forms Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 02/03/2025
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in WPGear Import Excel to Gravity Forms allows Reflected XSS. This issue affects Import Excel to Gravity Forms: from n/a through 1.18.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/06/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-24629 represents a critical cross-site scripting flaw within the WPGear Import Excel to Gravity Forms plugin, specifically affecting versions ranging from the initial release through 1.18. This weakness resides in the improper neutralization of input during web page generation processes, creating an avenue for malicious actors to inject and execute arbitrary script code within the context of a victim's browser. The vulnerability manifests as a reflected cross-site scripting attack, where malicious payloads are injected through user-supplied input that is subsequently reflected back in the application's response without adequate sanitization or encoding measures.
The technical implementation of this flaw occurs when the plugin processes data from Excel files that are imported into Gravity Forms, particularly during the generation of dynamic web content. When user-provided data from Excel spreadsheets is not properly sanitized before being rendered in web pages, attackers can craft malicious input that includes script tags or other executable code. The reflected nature of this vulnerability means that the malicious script code is embedded within a URL or HTTP request parameter, which is then reflected back to the user's browser when the page is rendered, executing the script in the context of the victim's session. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-79, which defines the improper neutralization of input during web page generation as a fundamental weakness in web application security.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft or defacement, as it enables attackers to execute arbitrary code within the browser context of authenticated users. This could lead to session hijacking, credential theft, data exfiltration, or the execution of malicious commands on behalf of the user. The reflected nature of the attack means that exploitation typically requires social engineering to trick users into clicking malicious links, but once executed, the attack can compromise user sessions and potentially escalate to more severe attacks within the application's access boundaries. The vulnerability affects any user who has the ability to upload or import Excel files into Gravity Forms, potentially including administrators or privileged users with elevated access rights.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing robust input validation and output encoding mechanisms throughout the plugin's codebase. The primary defense involves sanitizing all user-supplied input from Excel files before processing and rendering any content within web pages. This includes implementing proper HTML encoding for dynamic content, utilizing Content Security Policy headers to restrict script execution, and implementing input validation that prevents the injection of script tags or other executable code elements. Security patches should be applied immediately to all affected versions, and administrators should consider implementing additional monitoring and logging to detect potential exploitation attempts. Organizations should also review their overall web application security posture and ensure that similar vulnerabilities are not present in other components of their Gravity Forms installations or related plugins. The remediation process should follow established security practices outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and other industry standards for preventing cross-site scripting vulnerabilities, while also considering the ATT&CK framework's perspective on web application exploitation techniques that leverage such flaws.