CVE-2025-53426 is a reflected Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability found in Bob's Likert Survey Master software, affecting versions up to and including 0.8.0.1. The vulnerability arises from improper neutralization of user-supplied input during web page generation, allowing an attacker to inject malicious scripts that are reflected back to the user. This type of XSS requires the victim to interact with a crafted URL or input, which then executes the attacker’s script in the victim’s browser context. The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.1, indicating high severity, with the vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N. This means the attack can be launched remotely over the network without authentication, requires low attack complexity, and user interaction is necessary. The impact primarily affects confidentiality, enabling attackers to steal sensitive data such as session cookies or personal information. Integrity impact is low, as the attacker cannot modify server-side data, and availability is not affected. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, but the vulnerability is publicly disclosed and should be considered exploitable. The affected product, Likert Survey Master, is used for creating and managing surveys, which often handle sensitive respondent data, making confidentiality breaches particularly concerning. The lack of available patches at the time of disclosure necessitates immediate mitigation efforts by users and administrators.

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2025-53426 is the potential compromise of confidentiality through theft of session tokens, personal data, or survey responses. This can lead to privacy violations, regulatory non-compliance (e.g., GDPR), reputational damage, and potential downstream attacks such as account takeover or phishing. Since Likert Survey Master is used in academic, market research, and organizational feedback contexts, exposure of survey data could undermine trust and lead to legal consequences. The reflected XSS nature means attacks require user interaction, often via phishing or malicious links, increasing the risk in environments with less user awareness. The integrity and availability impacts are minimal, but confidentiality breaches alone are significant given the sensitivity of survey data. European entities handling large volumes of personal or sensitive data via this software are at heightened risk, especially those lacking robust web security controls or user training programs.

1. Monitor for official patches or updates from Bob and apply them immediately once available. 2. Implement strict input validation and output encoding on all user-supplied data to prevent script injection, even if patches are delayed. 3. Deploy Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to restrict the execution of unauthorized scripts in browsers. 4. Use web application firewalls (WAFs) with rules designed to detect and block reflected XSS payloads targeting Likert Survey Master endpoints. 5. Educate users and staff about the risks of clicking unknown or suspicious links, emphasizing the importance of verifying URLs before interaction. 6. Conduct regular security assessments and penetration tests focusing on web application input handling. 7. Consider isolating the survey application environment and limiting access to trusted users to reduce exposure. 8. Monitor logs and network traffic for unusual activity that may indicate exploitation attempts.