CVE-2025-45805 identifies a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the phpgurukul Doctor Appointment Management System version 1.0. The flaw arises because the application fails to properly sanitize or encode JavaScript code injected into the doctor’s profile name by an authenticated doctor user. When other users visit the website and select a doctor to book an appointment, the malicious script executes in their browsers. This stored XSS vulnerability leverages the trust users place in the website, enabling attackers to perform actions such as session hijacking, credential theft, or delivering further malware payloads. The vulnerability requires the attacker to be an authenticated doctor user, but no additional privileges are needed. The CVSS 3.1 vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:L) indicates network exploitation with low complexity, no privileges required, user interaction needed, and high confidentiality impact with limited integrity and availability impact. Although no public exploits are known, the vulnerability poses a significant risk due to the sensitive nature of healthcare data and the potential for lateral attacks within the system. The lack of available patches necessitates immediate mitigation efforts by administrators. The root cause is improper input validation and output encoding, a common CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation) issue. This vulnerability highlights the importance of secure coding practices in healthcare management systems that handle sensitive patient and appointment data.

For European organizations, particularly healthcare providers using the phpgurukul Doctor Appointment Management System, this vulnerability can lead to serious confidentiality breaches. Attackers exploiting this XSS flaw could steal session cookies or authentication tokens from patients or staff, leading to unauthorized access to personal health information (PHI). This compromises patient privacy and violates GDPR regulations, potentially resulting in heavy fines and reputational damage. Additionally, attackers could manipulate appointment bookings or inject malicious content, disrupting healthcare services and undermining trust in digital health platforms. The vulnerability also increases the attack surface for further exploitation, such as pivoting to internal networks or deploying ransomware. Given the critical nature of healthcare operations, even limited integrity or availability impact can have severe consequences. The threat is heightened in environments where multiple users access the system concurrently, increasing the likelihood of malicious script execution. Overall, the vulnerability poses a high risk to confidentiality and moderate risk to integrity and availability within European healthcare contexts.

To mitigate CVE-2025-45805, organizations should implement strict input validation and output encoding on all user-supplied data, especially fields like the doctor’s profile name. Employ context-aware encoding (e.g., HTML entity encoding) to neutralize any injected scripts before rendering. Use security libraries or frameworks that automatically handle XSS protections. Conduct thorough code reviews and penetration testing focused on injection flaws. Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules to detect and block malicious JavaScript payloads targeting profile fields. Restrict doctor user privileges to minimize injection opportunities and monitor logs for suspicious input patterns. Educate developers on secure coding practices aligned with OWASP guidelines. If possible, isolate the appointment booking interface to limit script execution impact. Regularly update and patch the system once vendor fixes become available. Additionally, implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to reduce the risk of script execution from untrusted sources. Finally, ensure incident response plans are prepared to quickly address any exploitation attempts.