CVE-2025-23986 is a high-severity reflected Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability affecting the fyrewurks Tiki Time application, specifically versions up to 1.3. The vulnerability arises from improper neutralization of input during web page generation, categorized under CWE-79. Reflected XSS occurs when untrusted user input is included in web responses without adequate sanitization or encoding, allowing attackers to inject malicious scripts that execute in the context of a victim's browser. This can lead to session hijacking, credential theft, defacement, or redirection to malicious sites. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.1 reflects a network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), but requiring user interaction (UI:R). The scope is changed (S:C), indicating that the vulnerability affects components beyond the initially vulnerable component, and impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability to a limited extent (C:L/I:L/A:L). No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability was reserved in January 2025 and published in May 2025. Given the nature of reflected XSS, exploitation typically requires tricking users into clicking crafted URLs or visiting malicious sites that trigger the vulnerability in Tiki Time web interfaces. The lack of patches suggests that organizations using Tiki Time should prioritize mitigation and monitoring efforts.

For European organizations using fyrewurks Tiki Time, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to web application security. Reflected XSS can lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, including session tokens and personal data, potentially violating GDPR requirements. Attackers could impersonate legitimate users, escalate privileges, or conduct phishing campaigns leveraging the trusted domain. The integrity of web content can be compromised, damaging organizational reputation and user trust. Availability impact is generally limited but could occur if injected scripts disrupt normal functionality. Sectors with high reliance on web applications for customer interaction, such as finance, healthcare, and e-commerce, are particularly vulnerable. Additionally, organizations subject to strict data protection regulations must consider the compliance implications of any data leakage resulting from exploitation.

Given the absence of an official patch, European organizations should implement immediate compensating controls. These include deploying Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with rules specifically designed to detect and block reflected XSS payloads targeting Tiki Time endpoints. Input validation and output encoding should be enforced at the application layer where possible, including sanitizing query parameters and user-supplied data before rendering. Security teams should conduct thorough code reviews and penetration testing focused on XSS vectors within Tiki Time. User awareness campaigns can reduce the risk of successful phishing attempts exploiting this vulnerability. Monitoring and logging of web traffic for anomalous requests can help detect exploitation attempts. Organizations should also plan for rapid patch deployment once an official fix is released. Isolating the Tiki Time application from critical internal systems and restricting access to trusted users can further reduce risk.