CVE-2025-31389 in Sequel Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 04/04/2025
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') vulnerability in sequel.Io Sequel allows Reflected XSS.This issue affects Sequel: from n/a through 1.0.11.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/04/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-31389 represents a critical cross-site scripting weakness within the sequel.io Sequel application, specifically impacting versions ranging from an unspecified starting point through version 1.0.11. This flaw resides in the web page generation process where input validation and sanitization mechanisms fail to properly neutralize potentially malicious user-supplied data before it is rendered in web responses. The reflected nature of this vulnerability means that an attacker can inject malicious scripts into web pages that are subsequently executed by other users who view those pages, creating a vector for various malicious activities including session hijacking, data theft, and unauthorized actions performed on behalf of victims.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input sanitization during the dynamic generation of web content. When user input is directly incorporated into web page responses without proper encoding or validation, attackers can craft malicious payloads that exploit the application's failure to neutralize dangerous characters and sequences. This weakness aligns with CWE-79, which specifically addresses cross-site scripting vulnerabilities where untrusted data is improperly integrated into web pages without adequate protection mechanisms. The vulnerability's classification as reflected XSS indicates that the malicious script is reflected off the web server, typically through URL parameters or other request fields, making it particularly dangerous as it requires minimal user interaction beyond visiting a maliciously crafted link.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, potentially allowing attackers to compromise user sessions, steal sensitive information, manipulate application data, or redirect users to malicious sites. In the context of a database management tool like Sequel, this vulnerability could enable attackers to access database connections, execute unauthorized queries, or gain insights into the underlying database structure and data. The reflected nature of the vulnerability means that attackers can craft URLs that, when clicked by unsuspecting users, would execute malicious scripts in their browsers, potentially leading to complete account compromise or unauthorized database access. This type of vulnerability directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1566.001, which covers phishing with malicious attachments, as users may be tricked into visiting malicious URLs that exploit this XSS vulnerability.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2025-31389 should prioritize immediate implementation of proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms. Organizations should ensure that all user-supplied input is thoroughly sanitized before being incorporated into web page content, implementing context-appropriate encoding such as HTML entity encoding for web page content or JavaScript encoding for dynamic script content. The application should implement Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution sources and prevent unauthorized code injection. Additionally, regular security updates and patches should be applied immediately upon availability, as this vulnerability affects a specific version range that likely contains remediation fixes. Implementing proper input validation frameworks and conducting regular security testing including dynamic application security testing can help identify similar vulnerabilities in other parts of the application. The fix should include comprehensive sanitization of all parameters, cookies, and headers that are processed during web page generation to ensure that no user-controllable data can be executed as script code within the browser context.