CVE-2014-2736
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedMultiple SQL injection vulnerabilities in MODX Revolution before 2.2.14 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via the (1) session ID (PHPSESSID) to index.php or remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary SQL commands via the (2) user parameter to connectors/security/message.php or (3) id parameter to manager/index.php.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceMultiple SQL injection vulnerabilities in MODX Revolution allow remote unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via the PHPSESSID session ID in index.php, while authenticated users can inject SQL through the user parameter in connectors/security_message.php and the id parameter in manager/index.php.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 2.2.13= 2.0.0= 2.0.1= 2.0.3= 2.0.4= 2.0.5= 2.0.6= 2.0.7= 2.0.8= 2.1.0= 2.1.1= 2.1.2CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify MODX Revolution versionCheck the core/config/config.inc.php file for $modx_version or access the Manager and navigate to Help > About to view the version numberAffected if The installed version is 2.2.13 or lower, or matches any of these: 2.0.0, 2.0.1, 2.0.3, 2.0.4, 2.0.5, 2.0.6, 2.0.7, 2.0.8, 2.1.0, 2.1.1, 2.1.2
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Verify PHPSESSID SQL injection exposureExamine the index.php file in the web root and locate the session handling code to confirm the PHPSESSID parameter is used in SQL queries without sanitizationAffected if The PHPSESSID cookie value is directly interpolated into SQL queries without being escaped or parameterized
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Check connectors/security_message.php accessibilityLocate the file connectors/security_message.php and inspect the code where the 'user' parameter is handled in SQL queriesAffected if The 'user' parameter from GET or POST requests is used in SQL without proper escaping and the connector endpoint is accessible without authentication
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Check manager/index.php id parameter exposureLocate the file manager/index.php and inspect the code handling the 'id' parameter in SQL queriesAffected if The 'id' parameter is used in SQL queries without sanitization and the manager area is accessible to authenticated users
The environment is affected if MODX Revolution version is 2.2.13 or below (including the specific 2.0.x and 2.1.x versions listed) AND any of the vulnerable parameters (PHPSESSID, user, or id) are processed unsanitized in SQL queries.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpgrade to MODX Revolution 2.2.14 or later to obtain the vendor patch. As an interim measure, implement web application firewall rules to filter malicious PHPSESSID values and restrict access to manager/index.php and connector endpoints to authorized users only.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2014-2736 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2014-2736 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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