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DotcmsApplication

CVE-2024-3938

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-07-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 23.01.18 / 24.05.31 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 · unedited
The "reset password" login page accepted an HTML injection via URL parameters. This has already been rectified via patch, and as such it cannot be demonstrated via Demo site link. Those interested to see the vulnerability may spin up a http://localhost:8082/dotAdmin/#/public/login?resetEmailSent=true&resetEmail=%3Ch1%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22https:%2F%2Fgoogle.com%22%3ECLICK%20ME%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fh1%3E This will result in a view along these lines: * OWASP Top 10 - A03: Injection * CVSS Score: 5.4 * AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln-metrics/cvss/v3-calculator * https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln-metrics/cvss/v3-calculator?vector=AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N&... https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln-metrics/cvss/v3-calculator

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 confidence

The reset password login page reflects the resetEmail URL parameter directly into the HTML response without proper HTML encoding, allowing arbitrary HTML/JavaScript injection. This is a reflected XSS (HTML injection) vulnerability where user-supplied input from the URL is rendered unsanitized in the page.

MitigationApply output encoding to the resetEmail parameter before rendering in HTML to neutralize injection payloads. Validate input conforms to email format. Implement Content-Security-Policy headers as defense-in-depth.

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
DotcmsApplication
Affected:>= 5.1.5, < 23.01.18>= 23.02, <= 23.09.7>= 23.12.21, <= 24.04.23>= 24.05.13, < 24.05.31= 23.10.24= 23.10.24.0= 24.04.24

CVSS 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
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify if Dotcms is installed
    Check for the presence of Dotcms by examining common installation directories (e.g., /dotcms/, /api/health), checking application startup banners, or reviewing deployed WAR/webapp artifacts for 'dotcms' in the name or classpath.
    Affected if The application is confirmed to be Dotcms CMS
  2. Determine the installed Dotcms version
    Locate the version file or check the admin dashboard. Common locations: WEB-INF/classes/dotcms-version.properties, or append /api/v1/version to the base URL. Alternatively, check the build manifest or pom.xml if accessible in the deployed WAR.
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: >= 5.1.5 and < 23.01.18; OR >= 23.02 and <= 23.09.7; OR >= 23.12.21 and <= 24.04.23; OR >= 24.05.13 and < 24.05.31; OR version equals 23.10.24, 23.10.24.0, or 24.04.24
  3. Locate the reset password page
    Access the reset password functionality by navigating to the /forgotPassword endpoint or the login page and clicking the reset password link. The exact path varies by Dotcms deployment but typically includes 'forgotPassword', 'resetPassword', or 'lostPassword' in the URL.
    Affected if The reset password page is accessible at the tested URL
  4. Test for reflected XSS in resetEmail parameter
    Submit a request to the reset password page with a test payload in the resetEmail parameter, such as: /[email protected]"><script>alert(1)</script> and observe whether the parameter value is rendered literally in the HTML response without HTML encoding.
    Affected if The resetEmail parameter value is reflected verbatim in the HTML response without encoding (e.g., <script> tags appear as literal text in the page source)

A user is affected if they are running a Dotcms version within the specified vulnerable ranges AND the reset password page reflects the resetEmail URL parameter without HTML encoding in the response.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 23.01.18 / 24.05.31 or later
Fixed in 23.01.1824.05.31
Interim mitigation

Apply output encoding to the resetEmail parameter before rendering in HTML to neutralize injection payloads. Validate input conforms to email format. Implement Content-Security-Policy headers as defense-in-depth.

Recommended fix High confidence

24.05.31 or later

  1. 1. Identify the currently running dotcms version using the admin panel or system information.
  2. 2. If running a version >= 5.1.5 and < 23.01.18, upgrade to 23.01.18 or later.
  3. 3. If running a version >= 23.02 and <= 23.09.7, upgrade to a version after 23.09.7 (e.g., 23.10 or later).
  4. 4. If running a version >= 23.12.21 and <= 24.04.23, upgrade to a version after 24.04.23 (e.g., 24.05 or later).
  5. 5. If running a version >= 24.05.13 and < 24.05.31, upgrade to 24.05.31 or later.
  6. 6. After upgrade, verify the reset password page no longer renders HTML from URL parameters by accessing: /dotAdmin/#/public/login?resetEmailSent=true&resetEmail=%3Ch1%3ETest%3C%2Fh1%3E
  7. 7. Confirm the literal text '<h1>Test</h1>' displays rather than rendered HTML.
Caveat Review release notes for any configuration or migration changes between your current version and the target version

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Dotcms Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-3938 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data