Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) in MODX Revolution

High-Tech Bridge Security Research Lab discovered vulnerability in MODX Revolution, which can be exploited to perform Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks.

1. Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) in MODX Revolution: CVE-2014-5451

The vulnerability exists due to insufficient sanitization of input data passed via the “a” HTTP GET parameter to “/manager/” URL. A remote attacker can trick a logged-in administrator to open a specially crafted link and execute arbitrary HTML and script code in browser in context of the vulnerable website.
This vulnerability can be used against website administrator to perform phishing attacks, steal potentially sensitive data and gain complete control over web application.

The exploitation example below uses the “alert()” JavaScript function to display “immuniweb” word:

http://[host]/manager/?a=%22%20onload=%22javascript:alert%28/immuniweb/%29;% 22%3E