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CVE-2025-50690: n/a

High
VulnerabilityCVE-2025-50690cvecve-2025-50690
Published: Wed Aug 13 2025 (08/13/2025, 00:00:00 UTC)
Source: CVE Database V5

Description

A Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability exists in SpatialReference.org (OSGeo/spatialreference.org) versions prior to 2025-05-17 (commit 2120adfa17ddd535bd0f539e6c4988fa3a2cb491). The vulnerability is caused by improper handling of user input in the search query parameter. An attacker can craft a specially formed URL with malicious JavaScript code, which is then reflected back and executed in the victim's browser. This flaw allows an attacker to execute arbitrary JavaScript in the context of the victim's session, potentially leading to session hijacking, phishing attacks, data theft, or redirection to malicious sites. The issue is exposed on publicly accessible pages, making it exploitable by an unauthenticated attacker.

AI-Powered Analysis

AILast updated: 08/13/2025, 15:03:53 UTC

Technical Analysis

CVE-2025-50690 is a Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability identified in SpatialReference.org, a service maintained by OSGeo that provides spatial reference system information widely used in geospatial applications. The vulnerability exists in versions prior to the commit dated 2025-05-17 (commit 2120adfa17ddd535bd0f539e6c4988fa3a2cb491). It arises from improper sanitization and handling of user input in the search query parameter. An attacker can exploit this flaw by crafting a malicious URL containing JavaScript code embedded within the search query. When a victim accesses this URL, the malicious script is reflected and executed within the victim's browser context. This reflected XSS attack does not require authentication and can be triggered on publicly accessible pages, increasing its exploitability. The consequences of successful exploitation include execution of arbitrary JavaScript code, which can lead to session hijacking, theft of sensitive data, phishing attacks by injecting fraudulent content, or redirecting users to malicious websites. Although no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the vulnerability's presence in a public-facing service used by geospatial professionals and organizations makes it a credible threat. The lack of a CVSS score indicates the need for an independent severity assessment based on the vulnerability's characteristics and potential impact.

Potential Impact

For European organizations, especially those involved in geospatial data analysis, mapping, urban planning, environmental monitoring, and related sectors, this vulnerability poses a significant risk. SpatialReference.org is a commonly referenced resource in geospatial workflows, and users accessing the site from European institutions could be targeted. Exploitation could lead to compromise of user sessions, enabling attackers to impersonate legitimate users and potentially access sensitive project data or internal systems if session tokens are reused or integrated with other services. Phishing or redirection attacks could also facilitate broader social engineering campaigns targeting European users. Additionally, organizations relying on SpatialReference.org for automated queries or integrations might be indirectly affected if malicious payloads are injected and executed in their environments. The vulnerability's public exposure and ease of exploitation without authentication increase the likelihood of opportunistic attacks, which could disrupt operations or lead to data breaches within European geospatial communities.

Mitigation Recommendations

1. Immediate patching: Organizations using SpatialReference.org should verify that the service has been updated to the fixed commit (post 2025-05-17) and avoid using vulnerable versions. 2. Input validation and sanitization: For any integrations or local mirrors of SpatialReference.org data, implement strict input validation and output encoding to neutralize malicious scripts. 3. Use Content Security Policy (CSP): Deploy CSP headers to restrict the execution of unauthorized scripts in browsers accessing SpatialReference.org or related applications. 4. User awareness: Educate users about the risks of clicking on suspicious or unsolicited URLs, especially those containing search parameters. 5. Monitor and log: Implement monitoring to detect unusual URL patterns or repeated access attempts with suspicious query parameters. 6. Employ web application firewalls (WAFs): Configure WAFs to detect and block reflected XSS attack patterns targeting the search query parameter. 7. Segmentation and token management: Ensure session tokens are scoped and invalidated appropriately to limit the impact of session hijacking. 8. Encourage the SpatialReference.org maintainers to provide official patches and security advisories promptly and to consider a bug bounty program to incentivize vulnerability reporting.

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Technical Details

Data Version
5.1
Assigner Short Name
mitre
Date Reserved
2025-06-16T00:00:00.000Z
Cvss Version
null
State
PUBLISHED

Threat ID: 689ca59aad5a09ad00442efa

Added to database: 8/13/2025, 2:47:54 PM

Last enriched: 8/13/2025, 3:03:53 PM

Last updated: 8/13/2025, 4:18:21 PM

Views: 3

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