CVE-2025-13469VulnerabilityPublished 20 Nov 2025

CVE-2025-13469: Public Knowledge Project omp · Cross Site Scripting

Affects Public Knowledge Project ompSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.8 Medium.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score

4.8Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 20% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:P/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Requirements: None
Privileges Required: High
User Interaction: Passive
Vulnerable system confidentiality: None
Vulnerable system integrity: Low
Vulnerable system availability: None
Subsequent system confidentiality: None
Subsequent system integrity: None
Subsequent system availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable system is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed below, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed “remotely exploitable” and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: The attacker must take no measurable action to exploit the vulnerability. The attack requires no target-specific circumvention to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable system.
Attack Requirements: None: The successful attack does not depend on the deployment and execution conditions of the vulnerable system. The attacker can expect to be able to reach the vulnerability and execute the exploit under all or most instances of the vulnerability.
Privileges Required: High: The attacker requires privileges that provide significant (e.g., administrative) control over the vulnerable system allowing full access to the vulnerable system’s settings and files.
User Interaction: Passive: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires limited interaction by the targeted user with the vulnerable system and the attacker’s payload. These interactions would be considered involuntary and do not require that the user actively subvert protections built into the vulnerable system.
Vulnerable system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact to the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Subsequent System or all confidentiality impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Subsequent System or all integrity impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Subsequent System or all availability impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v4.0 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 20 Nov 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
GitHubpkp/omp`pkg:github/pkp/omp`Other threats	Affected =3.3.0 =3.4.0 =3.5.0	Fixed in–

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AI-suggested

Organizations should prioritize upgrading their OMP installations to versions beyond 3.5.0 once the vendor releases a patch addressing CVE-2025-13469. Until an official patch is available, administrators should implement strict input validation and output encoding on the manualInstructions parameter to neutralize malicious script injections. Employing Content Security Policy (CSP) headers can help mitigate the impact of XSS by restricting the execution of unauthorized scripts. Regularly auditing and monitoring web application logs for suspicious activities related to payment instructions can help detect exploitation attempts early. User education is also critical; training users to recognize phishing attempts and avoid clicking on suspicious links reduces the risk of successful exploitation. Additionally, deploying web application firewalls (WAFs) with rules targeting XSS payloads can provide an additional layer of defense. Finally, organizations should review and harden their overall web security posture, including secure coding practices and periodic vulnerability assessments, to prevent similar issues.

Description

A security vulnerability has been detected in Public Knowledge Project omp and ojs 3.3.0/3.4.0/3.5.0. Impacted is an unknown function of the file plugins/paymethod/manual/templates/paymentForm.tpl of the component Payment Instructions Setting Handler. The manipulation of the argument manualInstructions leads to cross site scripting. The attack can be initiated remotely. You should upgrade the affected component.

Impact

For European organizations, particularly academic institutions, research centers, and publishers using the Public Knowledge Project's OMP software, this vulnerability poses a risk to user data confidentiality and integrity. Exploitation could lead to session hijacking, allowing attackers to impersonate legitimate users, potentially accessing sensitive academic content or administrative functions. Phishing attacks leveraging this vulnerability could deceive users into divulging credentials or other sensitive information. While the vulnerability does not directly impact system availability, the reputational damage and potential data breaches could have significant consequences. Given the widespread use of OMP in European academic publishing, the threat could affect a broad user base, including researchers, authors, and administrative staff. The remote and unauthenticated nature of the attack vector increases the likelihood of exploitation attempts, especially if attackers target institutions with less stringent web security controls. However, the requirement for user interaction somewhat limits the attack's scope. Organizations failing to address this vulnerability may face compliance issues with data protection regulations such as GDPR if user data is compromised.

Summary

CVE-2025-13469 identifies a cross-site scripting vulnerability in the Public Knowledge Project's Open Monograph Press (OMP) software, specifically in versions 3.3.0, 3.4.0, and 3.5.0. The vulnerability resides in the paymentForm.tpl template file within the Payment Instructions Setting Handler component. The issue arises from improper handling of the manualInstructions argument, which can be manipulated by an attacker to inject malicious JavaScript code. This XSS flaw allows remote attackers to craft malicious URLs or input that, when viewed by legitimate users, execute arbitrary scripts in their browsers. The attack vector does not require authentication, increasing the exposure risk, but does require user interaction to trigger the payload, such as clicking a malicious link or viewing a compromised page. The impact primarily affects the confidentiality and integrity of user sessions, potentially enabling session hijacking, credential theft, or phishing. The vulnerability does not affect system availability and does not require elevated privileges to exploit. No known exploits have been reported in the wild as of the publication date. The vulnerability has been assigned a CVSS 4.0 base score of 4.8, reflecting its medium severity. The recommended remediation is to upgrade the affected OMP versions to a patched release once available or implement strict input validation and output encoding on the manualInstructions parameter to prevent script injection.

References

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