CVE-2025-53224 is a high-severity reflected Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability identified in the NextGEN Gallery Search plugin developed by Koen Schuit. This vulnerability arises due to improper neutralization of user-supplied input during web page generation, classified under CWE-79. Specifically, the plugin fails to adequately sanitize or encode input parameters before reflecting them back in the web page, allowing an attacker to inject malicious scripts. When a victim interacts with a crafted URL or input, the malicious script executes in their browser context, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or unauthorized actions performed on behalf of the user. The vulnerability affects all versions of NextGEN Gallery Search up to 2.12, with no patch currently available as per the provided data. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 7.1, indicating a high severity level. The vector string (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L) shows that the attack can be launched remotely over the network without privileges, requires low attack complexity, no privileges, but does require user interaction (e.g., clicking a malicious link). The scope is changed, meaning the vulnerability affects resources beyond the vulnerable component itself. The impact includes low confidentiality, integrity, and availability losses, consistent with typical reflected XSS attacks. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, but the vulnerability's nature and ease of exploitation make it a significant risk for websites using this plugin.

For European organizations, especially those operating websites or content management systems that utilize the NextGEN Gallery Search plugin, this vulnerability poses a tangible risk. Exploitation could lead to the compromise of user sessions, theft of sensitive information such as authentication tokens or personal data, and unauthorized actions performed on behalf of legitimate users. This can damage organizational reputation, lead to regulatory non-compliance (e.g., GDPR violations due to data leakage), and potentially cause financial losses. Since the vulnerability requires user interaction, phishing or social engineering campaigns could be used to lure users into triggering the exploit. The reflected XSS could also be leveraged to deliver further malware or redirect users to malicious sites. Given the widespread use of WordPress and its plugins in Europe, organizations with public-facing websites using NextGEN Gallery Search are at risk. The impact extends to sectors such as e-commerce, media, education, and government services where web presence is critical and user trust paramount.

1. Immediate mitigation should include disabling or removing the NextGEN Gallery Search plugin until a vendor patch is released. 2. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules that detect and block reflected XSS patterns targeting the vulnerable parameters. 3. Employ Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict script execution and reduce the impact of XSS attacks. 4. Educate users and administrators about the risks of clicking untrusted links and encourage vigilance against phishing attempts. 5. Monitor web server logs for suspicious requests that may indicate attempted exploitation. 6. Once a patch is available, prioritize applying it promptly. 7. For developers or organizations maintaining custom versions, ensure proper input validation and output encoding are implemented following OWASP XSS prevention guidelines. 8. Conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing focusing on web application input handling.