CVE-2022-45782
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in dotCMS allows attackers to predict password reset tokens due to cryptographically insecure random generation. Attackers can use predictable tokens to reset user passwords and take over accounts. Affected systems include dotCMS core versions 5.3.8.5 through 5.3.8.15 and 21.03 through 22.10.1.
💻 Affected Systems
- dotCMS core
📦 What is this software?
Dotcms by Dotcms
Dotcms by Dotcms
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete compromise of all user accounts including administrators, leading to full system takeover, data theft, and unauthorized content modification.
Likely Case
Targeted account takeover of specific users, potentially leading to privilege escalation, data access, and unauthorized actions.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper monitoring and detection, potentially catching token abuse attempts before account compromise.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires understanding of the weak random generation algorithm but does not require authentication.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 22.10.2 and 5.3.8.16
Vendor Advisory: https://www.dotcms.com/security/SI-66
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Backup your dotCMS installation and database. 2. Download the patched version from dotCMS. 3. Follow dotCMS upgrade procedures for your specific version. 4. Restart the application server. 5. Verify the fix by testing password reset functionality.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable password reset functionality
allTemporarily disable the password reset feature to prevent exploitation while planning upgrade.
Modify dotCMS configuration to remove password reset endpoints or disable the feature in admin panel
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement rate limiting on password reset endpoints to make brute-force prediction attempts more difficult
- Enable detailed logging for all password reset attempts and monitor for suspicious patterns
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check dotCMS version in admin panel or via system properties. If version is between 5.3.8.5-5.3.8.15 or 21.03-22.10.1, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
Check dotCMS admin panel or examine dotCMS configuration files for version information.Verify Fix Applied:
After patching, verify version is 22.10.2 or higher, or 5.3.8.16 or higher. Test password reset functionality to ensure it works with secure tokens.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple failed password reset attempts for same user
- Unusual patterns in password reset token generation timestamps
- Password reset requests from unexpected IP addresses
Network Indicators:
- High volume of requests to password reset endpoints
- Patterned requests to /api/v1/authentication/resetPassword or similar endpoints
SIEM Query:
source="dotcms" AND (url="*resetPassword*" OR url="*password-reset*") | stats count by src_ip, user