CVE-2025-54856 in Movable Type
Summary
by MITRE • 10/23/2025
Movable Type contains a stored cross-site scripting vulnerability in Edit ContentData page. If crafted input is stored by an attacker with "ContentType Management" privilege, an arbitrary script may be executed on the web browser of the user who accesses Edit ContentData page.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/26/2025
This vulnerability resides within the Movable Type content management platform where a stored cross-site scripting flaw exists in the Edit ContentData page functionality. The weakness allows authenticated attackers with ContentType Management privileges to inject malicious scripts that persist in the application's database and execute whenever other users access the affected page. The vulnerability represents a classic stored xss vector that leverages the application's failure to properly sanitize user-supplied input before rendering it in web responses. According to CWE-079, this falls under the category of Cross-site Scripting where the vulnerability occurs during data storage rather than input validation, making it particularly dangerous as the malicious payload can affect multiple users over time. The attack requires minimal privileges, specifically ContentType Management access, which suggests this could be exploited by insiders or compromised accounts with appropriate permissions.
The technical execution of this vulnerability involves an attacker crafting malicious input containing script code within content data fields that are subsequently stored in the database. When legitimate users navigate to the Edit ContentData page, the stored malicious code executes within their browser context, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or redirection to malicious sites. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple script execution as it can be leveraged for more sophisticated attacks including privilege escalation or data exfiltration. From an operational standpoint, this represents a significant risk to web application security since the stored nature of the vulnerability means that once exploited, the malicious payload remains active until manually removed from the system. The attack chain typically follows the pattern of initial access through compromised credentials or insider threat, followed by content injection, and finally user exploitation through routine page access.
Organizations should implement comprehensive input validation and output encoding mechanisms to prevent this class of vulnerability from persisting in their systems. The recommended mitigations include implementing strict content sanitization processes that strip or encode potentially dangerous characters before storing user input, enforcing proper privilege separation to limit ContentType Management access, and implementing web application firewalls that can detect and block suspicious script patterns. According to the ATT&CK framework, this vulnerability maps to T1566.001 - Phishing: Spearphishing Attachment and T1059.007 - Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript, as it enables attackers to deliver malicious JavaScript payloads to victim browsers. The vulnerability also aligns with the principle of least privilege from NIST SP 800-53, where proper access controls should limit the ability of unauthorized users to inject malicious content. Regular security testing including dynamic application security testing and manual penetration testing should be conducted to identify and remediate similar stored XSS vulnerabilities across the application's attack surface, particularly in areas where user-generated content is stored and subsequently rendered.