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Cross-site Scripting occurrences in Dotcms

dotCMS before 22.06 allows remote attackers to bypass intended access control and obtain sensitive information by using a semicolon in a URL to introduce a matrix parameter. (This is also fixed in 5.3.8.12, 21.06.9, and 22.03.2 for LTS users.) Some Java application frameworks, including those used by Spring or Tomcat, allow the use of matrix parameters: these are URI parameters separated by semicolons. Through precise semicolon placement in a URI, it is possible to exploit this feature to avoid dotCMS's path-based XSS prevention (such as "require login" filters), and consequently access restricted resources. For example, an attacker could place a semicolon immediately before a / character that separates elements of a filesystem path. This could reveal file content that is ordinarily only visible to signed-in users. This issue can be chained with other exploit code to achieve XSS attacks against dotCMS. (2022-11-10, CVE-2022-35740)

** DISPUTED ** A Reflected Cross-site scripting (XSS) issue was discovered in dotCMS Core through 22.06. This occurs in the admin portal when the configuration has XSS_PROTECTION_ENABLED=false. NOTE: the vendor disputes this because the current product behavior, in effect, has XSS_PROTECTION_ENABLED=true in all configurations. (2022-08-05, CVE-2022-37431)

A reflected cross site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in dotAdmin/#/c/containers of dotCMS 21.05.1 allows attackers to execute arbitrary commands or HTML via a crafted payload. (2021-07-09, CVE-2021-35360)

A reflected cross site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in dotAdmin/#/c/links of dotCMS 21.05.1 allows attackers to execute arbitrary commands or HTML via a crafted payload. (2021-07-09, CVE-2021-35361)

A stored cross site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in dotAdmin/#/c/c_Images of dotCMS 21.05.1 allows authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary web scripts or HTML via a crafted payload entered into the 'Title' and 'Filename' parameters. (2021-07-09, CVE-2021-35358)

Cross Site Scripting (XSS) in dotCMS v5.1.5 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by injecting a malicious payload into the "Task Detail" comment window of the "/dotAdmin/#/c/workflow" component. (2021-04-23, CVE-2020-17542)

DotCMS Add Template with admin panel 20.11 is affected by cross-site Scripting (XSS) to gain remote privileges. An attacker could compromise the security of a website or web application through a stored XSS attack and stealing cookies using XSS. (2020-12-21, CVE-2020-35274)

/servlets/ajax_file_upload?fieldName=binary3 in dotCMS 5.1.1 allows XSS and HTML Injection. (2019-05-14, CVE-2019-11846)

An issue was discovered in Dotcms through 5.0.3. Attackers may perform XSS attacks via the inode, identifier, or fieldName parameter in html/js/dotcms/dijit/image/image_tool.jsp. (2018-11-26, CVE-2018-19554)

dotCMS V5.0.1 has XSS in the /html/portlet/ext/contentlet/image_tools/index.jsp fieldName and inode parameters. (2018-09-12, CVE-2018-16980)

Why Cross-site Scripting can be dangerous

Cross site scripting is an attack where a web page executes code that is injected by an adversary. It usually appears, when users input is presented. This attack can be used to impersonate a user, take over control of the session, or even steal API keys.

The attack can be executed e.g. when you application injects the request parameter directly into the HTML code of the page returned to the user:

https://server.com/confirmation?message=Transaction+Complete

what results in:

<span>Confirmation: Transaction Complete</span>

In that case the message can be modified to become a valid Javascript code, e.g.:

https://server.com/confirmation?message=<script>dangerous javascript code here</script>

and it will be executed locally by the user's browser with full access to the user's personal application/browser data:

<span>Confirmation: <script>dangerous javascript code here</script></span>

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