Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2021-25990 is a stored cross-site scripting issue in ifme’s Contacts section. A logged-in user could save harmful content that later runs in a victim’s browser when viewed. Business impact is moderate because exploitation requires account access and user interaction, but it can still expose user data or alter page behavior.
Executive priority
Treat as a scheduled remediation item unless ifme is internet-facing with many semi-trusted users. Prioritize faster if the Contacts feature is widely used, exposed to external users, or viewed by administrators handling sensitive information.
Technical view
ifme versions v7.22.0 through v7.31.4 are reported vulnerable to self-stored XSS in the contacts field, involving payloads loaded through an iframe. The CVSS 3.1 score is 5.4 with network attack vector, low complexity, low privileges, required user interaction, changed scope, and low confidentiality and integrity impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in self-hosted or managed ifme deployments running v7.22.0 through v7.31.4. Risk depends on whether untrusted or lower-privileged users can create or edit Contacts content and whether other users view that content.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation evidence. Exploitation is not described as unauthenticated: the CVSS vector indicates low privileges are needed and a victim must interact with the affected content.
Researcher notes
The evidence supports stored XSS in Contacts, but the bundle does not provide exploit telemetry, detailed affected CPEs, or a named fixed release. Validate version range and patch status from the upstream commit and current project guidance before closing.
Mitigation direction
- Identify all ifme deployments and compare versions against v7.22.0 through v7.31.4.
- Move affected deployments off the vulnerable version range using vendor guidance.
- Review the referenced upstream commit before backporting any local fix.
- Restrict Contacts editing to trusted users until remediation is complete.
- Monitor vendor advisories for clarified fixed versions or additional mitigations.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether deployed ifme versions fall within v7.22.0 through v7.31.4.
- Check whether the referenced upstream commit is present in the deployed codebase.
- Review Contacts field rendering for proper output encoding and iframe handling.
- Run a safe authenticated regression test in staging for stored content rendering.
- Check logs for suspicious Contact edits if untrusted users had access.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-79: User-session and phishing behavior lookup
Client-side and session-facing weaknesses should be reviewed alongside initial-access and user-execution behaviors. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-25990 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 5.4 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N2.32.7Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
5.4MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/ifmeorg/ifme/commit/83fd44ef8921a8dcf394a012e44901ab08596bdcCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.whitesourcesoftware.com/vulnerability-database/CVE-2021-25990CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.