CVE-2025-62989 is a stored Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability classified under CWE-79, affecting Boxy Studio's Cooked product versions up to 1.11.2. The vulnerability stems from improper neutralization of user input during the generation of web pages, which allows malicious scripts to be stored and later executed in the context of users viewing the affected pages. This stored XSS can be exploited by an attacker who has high-level privileges (PR:H) and requires user interaction (UI:R), such as convincing a user to visit a maliciously crafted page or interface within the application. The vulnerability impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability to a limited extent, as indicated by the CVSS vector (C:L/I:L/A:L). The attack vector is network-based (AV:N), meaning the attacker can exploit it remotely but must be authenticated with elevated privileges. The scope is changed (S:C), indicating that the vulnerability affects resources beyond the initially vulnerable component, potentially impacting other parts of the system or application. No patches have been released yet, and no known exploits are currently active in the wild. The vulnerability is significant for organizations relying on Cooked for web content management, as exploitation could lead to session hijacking, defacement, or unauthorized actions performed on behalf of legitimate users. The improper input neutralization suggests that input sanitization and output encoding mechanisms are insufficient or missing in the affected versions.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a moderate risk primarily to those using Boxy Studio Cooked for managing web content or internal portals. Exploitation could allow attackers with high privileges to inject malicious scripts that execute in the browsers of other users, potentially leading to session hijacking, theft of sensitive information, or unauthorized actions within the application. This can disrupt business operations, damage reputations, and lead to data breaches. Since the vulnerability requires authenticated access with high privileges, the risk is somewhat mitigated by existing access controls; however, insider threats or compromised privileged accounts could be leveraged. The change in scope means that the impact could extend beyond the immediate application, affecting integrated systems or services. Given the moderate CVSS score and the stored nature of the XSS, the threat is significant enough to warrant proactive mitigation, especially in sectors with strict data protection regulations such as finance, healthcare, and government within Europe.

European organizations should implement the following specific mitigations: 1) Immediately review and restrict high-privilege user accounts to minimize potential attackers with elevated access. 2) Apply strict input validation and output encoding on all user-supplied data within the Cooked application, especially in areas that generate web pages. 3) Employ Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to reduce the impact of potential XSS by restricting script execution sources. 4) Monitor application logs and user activities for unusual behavior indicative of attempted exploitation. 5) Prepare for rapid deployment of official patches from Boxy Studio once available, including testing in staging environments. 6) Educate privileged users about phishing and social engineering risks that could lead to account compromise. 7) Consider implementing Web Application Firewalls (WAF) with rules tailored to detect and block XSS payloads targeting Cooked. 8) Regularly audit and update the Cooked installation and dependencies to maintain security hygiene. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on privilege management, proactive monitoring, and layered defenses specific to the nature of the vulnerability.