CVE-2025-53397 is a reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability identified in Advantech iView, a product used for industrial control and monitoring. This vulnerability affects versions prior to 5.7.05 build 7057. Reflected XSS occurs when untrusted user input is immediately returned by a web application without proper sanitization or encoding, allowing an attacker to inject malicious scripts that execute in the context of the victim's browser session. In this case, an attacker can craft a malicious URL or input that, when visited or submitted by a user, causes unauthorized scripts to run. These scripts could steal session cookies, perform actions on behalf of the user, or disclose sensitive information accessible through the user's session. The vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.4, indicating a medium severity level. The vector metrics show that the attack can be launched remotely over the network (AV:N), requires no privileges (PR:N), but does require user interaction (UI:R), and impacts confidentiality and integrity to a limited extent (C:L/I:L/A:N). No known exploits are reported in the wild yet, and no patches are linked, suggesting that remediation may still be pending or in progress. Given that Advantech iView is typically deployed in industrial environments for visualization and control, this vulnerability could be leveraged to compromise operator sessions or manipulate displayed data, potentially leading to operational disruptions or unauthorized information disclosure.

For European organizations, especially those operating in critical infrastructure sectors such as manufacturing, energy, transportation, or utilities, this vulnerability poses a risk to operational technology (OT) environments. Exploitation could lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive operational data or manipulation of control interfaces, undermining trust in system integrity. While the vulnerability does not directly impact availability, the potential for attackers to hijack user sessions or inject misleading information could cause operational errors or delays. European organizations with remote or web-accessible Advantech iView interfaces are particularly at risk, as attackers can exploit the vulnerability without authentication but require user interaction, such as clicking a malicious link. This risk is heightened in environments where operators access iView dashboards via web browsers without strict input validation or network segmentation. The medium severity rating suggests that while the threat is not immediately critical, it should be addressed promptly to prevent escalation or chaining with other vulnerabilities.

To mitigate this vulnerability effectively, European organizations should: 1) Immediately identify and inventory all Advantech iView deployments and verify their versions. 2) Apply the latest available software updates or patches from Advantech as soon as they are released, even if not explicitly linked yet, by monitoring vendor advisories. 3) Implement strict input validation and output encoding on all web interfaces to prevent injection of malicious scripts. 4) Employ web application firewalls (WAFs) with rules targeting reflected XSS attack patterns to detect and block malicious requests. 5) Restrict access to iView web interfaces to trusted networks and users, ideally through VPNs or zero-trust network architectures, minimizing exposure to the internet. 6) Educate users and operators about the risks of clicking untrusted links and encourage the use of security-aware browsing practices. 7) Monitor logs and network traffic for unusual activity indicative of attempted XSS exploitation. 8) Consider deploying Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to limit the execution of unauthorized scripts in browsers accessing iView. These measures, combined, reduce the attack surface and limit the potential impact of this reflected XSS vulnerability.