CVE-2025-41049 in CMF
Summary
by MITRE • 09/04/2025
A vulnerability has been discovered in appRain CMF version 4.0.5, consisting of a stored authenticated XSS due to a lack of proper validation of user input, through the 'data[Addon][layouts]' and 'data[Addon][layouts_except]' parameters in /apprain/developer/addons/update/appform.
Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/05/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-41049 represents a critical stored cross-site scripting flaw within the appRain Content Management Framework version 4.0.5. This security weakness resides in the application's developer module, specifically within the addon management functionality where administrators can update application forms. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation mechanisms that fail to properly sanitize user-supplied data before processing and storage within the application's database. The affected parameters 'data[Addon][layouts]' and 'data[Addon][layouts_except]' are particularly susceptible to malicious input injection, creating an environment where attacker-controlled scripts can be permanently stored and subsequently executed in the context of authenticated users' browsers.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability requires an authenticated user with sufficient privileges to access the addon management interface, typically an administrator or privileged developer role. When malicious input is submitted through the vulnerable parameters, the application fails to implement proper sanitization or encoding of special characters, allowing HTML and JavaScript code to be stored directly in the database. This stored malicious content becomes persistent and will execute whenever the affected page is accessed by any user with appropriate permissions, making it a classic stored XSS vulnerability. The CWE-79 classification applies here as the application fails to properly encode user-controllable data, creating opportunities for malicious script execution in the victim's browser context.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple script execution, as it can be leveraged for complete session hijacking, credential theft, and privilege escalation within the application. An attacker who gains access to an administrator account can inject malicious scripts that capture session cookies, redirect users to phishing sites, or even modify application data. The stored nature of this vulnerability means that once exploited, the malicious code persists indefinitely until manually removed from the database, potentially affecting all users who access the vulnerable application components. This vulnerability directly maps to ATT&CK technique T1531 which involves the use of malicious scripts to gain unauthorized access to systems and data.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2025-41049 should prioritize immediate patching of the appRain CMF to version 4.0.6 or later, which contains the necessary input validation fixes. Until patching is complete, administrators should implement additional defensive measures including strict input validation at multiple layers of the application, implementing Content Security Policy headers to limit script execution, and monitoring database entries for suspicious patterns. The application should enforce proper output encoding for all user-controllable data, particularly when rendering content in web pages. Security teams should also conduct thorough code reviews focusing on input validation patterns and implement automated security testing including dynamic application security testing to identify similar vulnerabilities. Regular security audits of third-party components and frameworks should be conducted to ensure all dependencies are updated to secure versions, preventing similar vulnerabilities from being introduced through the supply chain.