CVE-2025-61597
📋 TL;DR
Emlog versions 2.5.21 and below contain a stored cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in mail template settings. An attacker with admin access can inject malicious JavaScript that executes when other admins view the settings page, potentially leading to session theft and full admin account compromise. This affects all Emlog installations using vulnerable versions.
💻 Affected Systems
- Emlog
📦 What is this software?
Emlog by Emlog
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete admin account takeover leading to website defacement, data theft, backdoor installation, and further server compromise.
Likely Case
Session token theft allowing attacker to impersonate admin, modify content, install plugins, or access sensitive data.
If Mitigated
Limited to admin interface with no data exfiltration if proper input validation and output encoding are implemented.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploit requires admin credentials; proof-of-concept available in GitHub advisory.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 2.5.22
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/emlog/emlog/security/advisories/GHSA-hj97-hp2c-6m4m
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Backup your Emlog installation and database. 2. Download version 2.5.22 from official repository. 3. Replace all files with new version. 4. Verify mail template settings no longer accept HTML injection.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable mail template editing
allRemove or restrict access to mail template settings page for non-essential admins.
Implement Content Security Policy
allAdd CSP headers to prevent JavaScript execution from untrusted sources.
Add to .htaccess: Header set Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'"
Add to nginx config: add_header Content-Security-Policy "default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'";
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Restrict admin access to trusted IP addresses only.
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block XSS payloads in POST requests.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check Emlog version in admin panel or via database query: SELECT * FROM emlog_options WHERE option_name='emlog_version'Check Version:
Check admin dashboard or run: grep -r "emlog_version" /path/to/emlog/ filesVerify Fix Applied:
Attempt to inject HTML/JavaScript in mail template settings and verify it's properly sanitized or rejected.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual admin login patterns
- Multiple failed login attempts followed by successful login
- POST requests to mail template settings with script tags
Network Indicators:
- Outbound connections to suspicious domains from admin sessions
- Unusual traffic patterns from admin interface
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND (uri="/admin/mail_template" OR uri="/admin/settings") AND (body CONTAINS "<script>" OR body CONTAINS "javascript:")