CVE-2025-40700: IDI Eikon Governalia XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-40700 Overview

CVE-2025-40700 is a Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability affecting IDI Eikon's Governalia platform. The vulnerability allows an attacker to execute JavaScript code in the victim's browser when a malicious URL with the q parameter in /search is sent to them. This vulnerability can be exploited to steal sensitive information such as session cookies or to perform actions on behalf of the victim.

Critical Impact

Attackers can execute arbitrary JavaScript in victim browsers, enabling session hijacking, credential theft, and unauthorized actions on behalf of authenticated users.

Affected Products

• IDI Eikon Governalia (versions not specified)

Discovery Timeline

• December 2, 2025 - CVE-2025-40700 published to NVD
• December 2, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-40700

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation), commonly known as Cross-Site Scripting. The flaw exists in the search functionality of the Governalia platform, specifically in how the application handles the q parameter within the /search endpoint.

With a CVSS 4.0 score of 5.1 (Medium severity), this reflected XSS vulnerability requires user interaction to exploit. The CVSS vector CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:L/SI:L/SA:N indicates that while the attack is network-accessible with low complexity and no privileges required, it necessitates active user participation (such as clicking a malicious link).

The EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) data shows a probability of 0.062% with a percentile of 19.45, suggesting relatively low likelihood of exploitation in the wild compared to other vulnerabilities.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability lies in insufficient input validation and output encoding within the Governalia search functionality. User-supplied input via the q parameter is reflected back in the HTTP response without proper sanitization, allowing malicious script content to be executed in the context of the victim's browser session.

When user input is embedded directly into HTML output without escaping special characters like <, >, ", and ', attackers can inject arbitrary HTML and JavaScript code that executes when the page renders.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based and requires social engineering to succeed. An attacker crafts a malicious URL containing JavaScript payload in the q parameter of the /search endpoint. When a victim clicks this link (typically delivered via phishing emails, social media, or compromised websites), the malicious script executes in their browser within the context of the Governalia domain.

The vulnerability manifests when unsanitized user input from the search query parameter is reflected directly into the page response. Attackers can craft URLs containing JavaScript payloads that execute when victims visit the malicious link. For technical details on the exploitation mechanism, refer to the INCIBE security advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-40700

Indicators of Compromise

• Suspicious HTTP requests to /search endpoint containing encoded JavaScript or HTML tags in the q parameter
• Unusual patterns in web server logs showing script injection attempts (e.g., <script>, javascript:, onerror=, onload=)
• Reports of users being redirected to external domains after visiting internal search URLs
• Session cookie exfiltration attempts visible in network traffic analysis

Detection Strategies

Organizations should implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block common XSS payload patterns in HTTP requests. Log analysis should focus on identifying requests containing script tags, event handlers, or encoded JavaScript in URL parameters.

SentinelOne Singularity provides comprehensive endpoint and web application protection that can detect XSS exploitation attempts through behavioral analysis and real-time threat intelligence. The platform monitors for suspicious browser activity indicative of script injection attacks.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable detailed logging on web servers and reverse proxies to capture full request URLs including query parameters. Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers and monitor for CSP violation reports. Regularly review access logs for anomalous patterns in search functionality usage. Deploy real-time alerting for requests containing common XSS payload signatures.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-40700

Immediate Actions Required

• Implement input validation on the q parameter to reject or sanitize special characters
• Apply proper output encoding (HTML entity encoding) when reflecting user input in responses
• Deploy Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to mitigate the impact of XSS attacks
• Configure HTTPOnly and Secure flags on session cookies to prevent JavaScript access
• Monitor web application logs for exploitation attempts

Patch Information

Consult the vendor advisory from IDI Eikon for official patch availability. Organizations should contact IDI Eikon directly or monitor the Governalia website for security updates. The INCIBE advisory provides additional guidance on addressing this vulnerability.

Workarounds

Until an official patch is available, organizations can implement the following workarounds:

Web application firewalls (WAFs) can be configured to filter malicious input patterns. The following is an example CSP header configuration that can help mitigate XSS attacks:

# Apache .htaccess or nginx configuration
Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; script-src 'self'; style-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline'; img-src 'self' data:; frame-ancestors 'self'; form-action 'self';

# Additional security headers
X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff
X-XSS-Protection: 1; mode=block
X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN

Additionally, consider implementing server-side input sanitization libraries specific to your platform and ensure all user input is properly escaped before being included in HTML responses.