CVE-2022-25303: Whoogle search Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-mxvc-fwgx-j778
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CVSS 5.4
CWE-79
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2022-25303 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.4) cross-site scripting vulnerability (CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')) affecting Whoogle search libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves whoogle search cross-site scripting via string parameter. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.7.2.

CVE-2022-25303 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2022-25303
GHSA Identifier GHSA-mxvc-fwgx-j778
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.4
CWE Classification CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')
Affected Product Whoogle search
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.4

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction Required (UI:R)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality Low (C:L)
Integrity Low (I:L)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2022-25303

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Whoogle search dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

whoogle-search fixed: 0.7.2 
pip install whoogle-search>=0.7.2
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

pip show whoogle-search

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2022-25303, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show whoogle-search

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Whoogle search in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.7.2), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show whoogle-search command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting'), where the product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users. In Whoogle search, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

The package whoogle-search before version 0.7.2 is vulnerable to Cross-site Scripting (XSS) via the query string parameter q. In the case where it does not contain the http string, it is used to build the error_message that is then rendered in the error.html template, using the [flask.render_template](https://flask.palletsprojects.com/en/2.1.x/api/flask.render_template) function. However, the error_message is rendered using the [| safe filter](https://jinja.palletsprojects.com/en/3.1.x/templates/working-with-automatic-escaping), meaning the user input is not escaped.

CVE-2022-25303 Affected Whoogle search Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.7.2
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
whoogle-search
pypi/whoogle-search
PyPI
< 0.7.2
0.7.2

References

NVD — CVE-2022-25303 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-25303
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/benbusby/whoogle-search/commit/abc30d7da3b5c67be7ce84d4699f327442d44606
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-mxvc-fwgx-j778
Whoogle search Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/benbusby/whoogle-search
Whoogle search Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/benbusby/whoogle-search/blob/6d362ca5c7a00d2f691a2512461c5dfbfc01cbb3/app/routes.py%23L448
Whoogle search Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/whoogle-search/PYSEC-2022-226.yaml
snyk.io/vuln/snyk-python-wh... WEB
https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-PYTHON-WHOOGLESEARCH-2803306

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2022-25303?
CVE-2022-25303 is a security vulnerability in Whoogle search involving Whoogle Search Cross-site Scripting via string parameter under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting').
Which Whoogle search versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.7.2 across affected packages: whoogle-search.
What version fixes CVE-2022-25303?
Upgrading to 0.7.2 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is whoogle-search affected?
Yes, whoogle-search is affected in releases prior to 0.7.2. Upgrade your dependency to 0.7.2 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2022-25303?
CVE-2022-25303 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.4 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2022-25303?
CVE-2022-25303 is classified under CWE-79: Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting') (The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2022-25303?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show whoogle-search'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-mxvc-fwgx-j778",
  "modified" : "2024-11-19T19:03:35Z",
  "published" : "2022-07-15T15:37:39Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2022-25303" ],
  "summary" : "Whoogle Search Cross-site Scripting via string parameter",
  "details" : "The package whoogle-search before version 0.7.2 is vulnerable to Cross-site Scripting (XSS) via the query string parameter q. In the case where it does not contain the http string, it is used to build the error_message that is then rendered in the error.html template, using the [flask.render_template](https://flask.palletsprojects.com/en/2.1.x/api/flask.render_template) function. However, the error_message is rendered using the [| safe filter](https://jinja.palletsprojects.com/en/3.1.x/templates/working-with-automatic-escaping), meaning the user input is not escaped.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "whoogle-search"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.7.2"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-25303"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/benbusby/whoogle-search/commit/abc30d7da3b5c67be7ce84d4699f327442d44606"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-mxvc-fwgx-j778"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/benbusby/whoogle-search"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/benbusby/whoogle-search/blob/6d362ca5c7a00d2f691a2512461c5dfbfc01cbb3/app/routes.py%23L448"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/whoogle-search/PYSEC-2022-226.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://snyk.io/vuln/SNYK-PYTHON-WHOOGLESEARCH-2803306"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-79" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2022-07-15T15:37:39Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2022-07-12T15:15:00Z"
  }
}