CVE-2025-11512 is a Cross Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability identified in version 1.0 of the code-projects Voting System, specifically within the /admin/voters_add.php administrative interface. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output encoding of user-supplied parameters: Firstname, Lastname, and Platform. An attacker can remotely inject malicious JavaScript code by manipulating these parameters, which is then executed in the context of an administrator or user viewing the affected page. The vulnerability does not require any authentication (AV:N, PR:N) and has low attack complexity (AC:L), but does require user interaction (UI:P) to trigger the malicious script. The impact on confidentiality is none, but there is a low impact on integrity due to potential manipulation of displayed content. Availability is not affected. The vulnerability has a CVSS 4.0 base score of 5.3, categorized as medium severity. No official patches have been released yet, and no known exploits are active in the wild, though exploit code has been publicly disclosed. This vulnerability could be leveraged for session hijacking, phishing, or defacement attacks, undermining trust in the voting system. The administrative nature of the affected page increases the risk if administrators are targeted. The lack of server-side sanitization and absence of Content Security Policy headers likely contribute to the exploitability of this issue.

For European organizations using the code-projects Voting System 1.0, this XSS vulnerability poses risks primarily to the integrity and trustworthiness of election or polling processes. Attackers could exploit this flaw to execute malicious scripts in the browsers of administrative users, potentially stealing session cookies, performing unauthorized actions, or redirecting users to phishing sites. This could lead to manipulation or disruption of voting data, loss of voter confidence, and reputational damage. While the vulnerability does not directly compromise system availability or confidentiality of stored data, the indirect consequences of compromised administrative sessions could be significant. Given the critical nature of voting systems in democratic processes, even medium severity vulnerabilities warrant prompt attention. The risk is heightened in environments where administrators access the system from less secure networks or devices. Additionally, the public disclosure of exploit code increases the likelihood of opportunistic attacks, especially during election periods or politically sensitive times.

To mitigate CVE-2025-11512, organizations should implement the following specific measures: 1) Apply strict input validation on the Firstname, Lastname, and Platform parameters to reject or sanitize any potentially malicious characters or scripts before processing. 2) Employ context-aware output encoding (e.g., HTML entity encoding) when rendering user-supplied data in the web interface to prevent script execution. 3) Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the execution of unauthorized scripts and reduce the impact of XSS attacks. 4) Restrict administrative access to trusted networks and enforce multi-factor authentication to reduce the risk of session compromise. 5) Monitor logs and user activity for unusual behavior indicative of exploitation attempts. 6) Engage with the vendor or community to obtain and apply patches or updates as soon as they become available. 7) Conduct security awareness training for administrators to recognize phishing and suspicious activity. 8) Consider deploying web application firewalls (WAFs) with rules targeting XSS payloads specific to this vulnerability. These targeted mitigations go beyond generic advice by focusing on the affected parameters and administrative context.