CVE-2025-68275 is a critical stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability identified in ChurchCRM, an open-source church management system widely used for managing congregation data. The vulnerability affects all versions prior to 6.5.3 and is present on the 'View Active People', 'View Inactive People', and 'View All People' pages. Stored XSS occurs when malicious input is saved on the server and later rendered in users' browsers without proper sanitization or encoding. In this case, attackers can inject arbitrary JavaScript code into these pages, which executes in the context of authenticated users who visit the affected pages. The CVSS 4.0 vector indicates network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:H - high privileges required for injection but none for exploitation?), user interaction required (UI:A), and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (VC:H, VI:H, VA:N). This suggests that while injection requires high privileges, exploitation involves user interaction and can severely compromise user sessions and data integrity. Potential impacts include theft of session cookies, unauthorized actions performed on behalf of users, and possible pivoting to further internal systems. Although no exploits are currently known in the wild, the vulnerability's critical rating and ease of exploitation once injected make it a significant threat. The issue was addressed in ChurchCRM version 6.5.3, which implements proper input neutralization and output encoding to prevent script injection. Organizations running vulnerable versions should upgrade immediately and review user input handling practices. Monitoring logs for suspicious activity and implementing web application firewalls (WAFs) with XSS detection rules can provide additional protection.

For European organizations using ChurchCRM, this vulnerability poses a high risk to the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive personal data managed within the CRM, including congregation member information. Successful exploitation could lead to session hijacking, unauthorized data access, and manipulation of CRM records, potentially undermining trust and compliance with data protection regulations such as GDPR. The availability impact is less direct but could result from secondary effects like account lockouts or administrative disruptions. Faith-based organizations and charities relying on ChurchCRM for operational management may face reputational damage and operational challenges if exploited. Given the critical severity and the potential for widespread impact, organizations must act swiftly to remediate. The threat is particularly relevant for countries with larger populations of Christian organizations using ChurchCRM or similar open-source church management systems.

1. Immediately upgrade ChurchCRM installations to version 6.5.3 or later, which contains the fix for this vulnerability. 2. Implement strict input validation and output encoding on all user-supplied data, especially on pages displaying user information. 3. Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules to detect and block XSS payloads targeting the affected endpoints. 4. Conduct regular security audits and code reviews focusing on input handling and sanitization. 5. Educate users and administrators about phishing and social engineering risks, as exploitation requires user interaction. 6. Monitor application logs and user activity for unusual behavior indicative of XSS exploitation attempts. 7. Restrict administrative privileges to minimize the risk of malicious input injection. 8. Consider implementing Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to reduce the impact of potential XSS attacks. 9. Backup CRM data regularly to enable recovery in case of compromise. 10. Engage with the ChurchCRM community for updates and security advisories.