CVE-2025-0716 is a vulnerability identified in Google AngularJS affecting all versions due to incomplete filtering of special elements, specifically the 'href' and 'xlink:href' attributes within SVG <image> elements. AngularJS fails to properly sanitize these attributes, allowing attackers to bypass typical image source restrictions enforced by browsers or application logic. This can be exploited to perform content spoofing attacks, where malicious actors can manipulate the visual content presented to users, potentially misleading them or injecting deceptive information. Additionally, attackers can exploit this flaw to degrade application performance by referencing excessively large or slow-loading images, impacting availability and user experience. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-791 (Improper Sanitization of Special Elements) and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 4.8, indicating medium severity. The attack vector is network-based with high attack complexity, no privileges required, and no user interaction needed. Importantly, AngularJS has reached end-of-life status and will not receive patches or updates to remediate this vulnerability, leaving applications dependent on AngularJS inherently exposed unless mitigations or migrations are undertaken. No known exploits have been reported in the wild as of the publication date. The vulnerability affects all AngularJS versions, starting from 0.0.0 upwards, making it broadly applicable to any legacy or existing AngularJS deployments.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses risks primarily to web applications relying on AngularJS for frontend rendering, especially those embedding SVG images with dynamic 'href' or 'xlink:href' attributes. Content spoofing can undermine user trust, facilitate phishing or social engineering attacks, and potentially lead to misinformation or fraud. Performance degradation caused by loading large or slow images can disrupt service availability and degrade user experience, impacting business operations and customer satisfaction. Since AngularJS is widely used in legacy systems, organizations maintaining such applications may face increased operational risk due to the lack of vendor support and patches. The medium CVSS score reflects moderate impact on integrity and availability but no direct confidentiality loss. European sectors with high reliance on web applications, such as finance, government, healthcare, and e-commerce, could be particularly affected if AngularJS is in use. The inability to patch the vulnerability increases the risk exposure over time, especially as attackers may develop exploits. However, the high attack complexity and absence of known exploits currently reduce immediate threat levels. Nonetheless, the persistence of vulnerable AngularJS applications in production environments means the threat remains relevant.

Given AngularJS is end-of-life and no patches are forthcoming, European organizations should prioritize migration to supported frameworks such as Angular (2+), React, or Vue.js to eliminate exposure. In the interim, implement strict input validation and sanitization on all user-supplied data that could influence SVG image attributes to prevent injection of malicious URLs. Employ Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the domains from which images and resources can be loaded, thereby limiting the impact of malicious image references. Review and audit all SVG usage in applications to identify and remove or harden any dynamic 'href' or 'xlink:href' attributes. Monitor application performance and network traffic for unusual image loading patterns that may indicate exploitation attempts. Consider using web application firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious SVG attribute manipulations. Educate development teams on the risks of using deprecated frameworks and the importance of secure coding practices around SVG and image handling. Finally, maintain an inventory of AngularJS applications to assess exposure and plan for timely upgrades or replacements.