CVE-2025-58023 is a stored Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability classified under CWE-79, affecting the akdevs Genealogical Tree software up to version 2.2.5. Stored XSS occurs when malicious input is improperly sanitized and then persistently stored by the application, later being served to users in a web page without proper neutralization. This vulnerability allows an attacker with at least low privileges (PR:L) and requiring user interaction (UI:R) to inject malicious scripts into the genealogical tree web pages. When other users view the affected pages, the injected scripts execute in their browsers, potentially leading to session hijacking, credential theft, or unauthorized actions performed on behalf of the victim. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 6.5 reflects a medium severity, with an attack vector of network (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), partial privileges required, and a scope change (S:C) indicating that the vulnerability affects components beyond the initially vulnerable one. The impact includes low confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts individually, but combined they can lead to significant compromise of user data and trust in the application. No known exploits are reported in the wild yet, and no patches have been linked, indicating that mitigation may require manual code review or vendor updates once available. The vulnerability is particularly critical in environments where genealogical data is sensitive or where users have elevated privileges, as the stored XSS can be leveraged for persistent attacks against multiple users.

For European organizations using akdevs Genealogical Tree, this vulnerability poses risks to both individual privacy and organizational data integrity. Genealogical data often contains sensitive personal information, including family relationships and historical records, which are protected under GDPR and other privacy regulations. Exploitation could lead to unauthorized data disclosure, violating compliance requirements and damaging organizational reputation. Additionally, attackers could leverage the XSS to perform session hijacking or privilege escalation, potentially gaining access to administrative functions or other internal systems connected to the genealogical platform. This could disrupt service availability or lead to further lateral movement within the network. Given the collaborative nature of genealogical research, multiple users accessing shared data increase the attack surface. The medium severity score suggests that while exploitation requires some user interaction and privileges, the consequences can be significant, especially if attackers target high-value user accounts or administrators.

To mitigate CVE-2025-58023 effectively, European organizations should: 1) Immediately audit and sanitize all user inputs in the Genealogical Tree application, focusing on areas where user-generated content is stored and rendered. Implement strict output encoding (e.g., HTML entity encoding) to neutralize scripts before rendering. 2) Restrict privileges to the minimum necessary for users to reduce the risk of attackers injecting malicious scripts. 3) Employ Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to limit the execution of unauthorized scripts in browsers. 4) Monitor logs and user activity for unusual behavior indicative of XSS exploitation attempts. 5) Engage with the vendor (akdevs) for official patches or updates and apply them promptly once available. 6) Consider deploying Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with rules tailored to detect and block XSS payloads targeting the genealogical application. 7) Educate users about the risks of clicking on suspicious links or interacting with untrusted content within the platform. 8) If possible, isolate the genealogical application environment to limit potential lateral movement in case of compromise.