CVE-2025-63441
📋 TL;DR
Open Source Social Network (OSSN) 8.6 contains a reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability in the administrator friends endpoint. Attackers can inject malicious scripts via the 'param' parameter, which could compromise administrator accounts. All OSSN 8.6 installations with the vulnerable endpoint accessible are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Open Source Social Network (OSSN)
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Administrator account takeover leading to complete system compromise, data theft, and privilege escalation to full administrative control.
Likely Case
Session hijacking of administrator accounts, credential theft, and unauthorized administrative actions.
If Mitigated
Limited to client-side script execution with no persistence if proper input validation and output encoding are implemented.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires administrator access to the vulnerable endpoint, making it a post-authentication vulnerability.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Version 8.7 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/opensource-socialnetwork/opensource-socialnetwork/releases/tag/8.6
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Backup your OSSN installation and database. 2. Download OSSN 8.7 or later from the official repository. 3. Replace the existing installation files with the patched version. 4. Clear browser cache and test functionality.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Input Validation Filter
allAdd server-side input validation for the 'param' parameter to sanitize user input.
Modify the vulnerable PHP file to include: htmlspecialchars($_GET['param'], ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8')
Endpoint Restriction
allRestrict access to the /u/administrator/friends endpoint using web server configuration.
For Apache: <Location "/u/administrator/friends">
Order deny,allow
Deny from all
</Location>
For Nginx: location /u/administrator/friends { deny all; }
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with XSS protection rules.
- Disable administrator access to the friends management interface if not required.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Access /u/administrator/friends?param=<script>alert('test')</script> and check if script executes in browser.Check Version:
Check OSSN version in admin panel or examine version.php file in installation directory.Verify Fix Applied:
After patching, test the same endpoint with XSS payloads and verify no script execution occurs.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual GET requests to /u/administrator/friends with script tags or encoded payloads in parameters.
- Multiple failed login attempts followed by access to administrator endpoints.
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests containing <script> tags or JavaScript code in URL parameters to administrator endpoints.
SIEM Query:
source="web_server" AND (url="/u/administrator/friends" AND (param="*<script>*" OR param="*javascript:*"))