# CVE-2023-3042: CNA SHORTNAME: dotCMSORG UUID: 5b9d93f2-25c7-46b4-ab60-d201718c9dd8

> Attackers can bypass XSS and access controls by using double slashes in URLs, potentially executing malicious scripts or accessing restricted resources.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 17 Oct 2023
- **Updated:** 12 Jun 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-4473-7649-rj9x

## What is CVE-2023-3042?

CVE-2023-3042 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Dotcms Dotcms, published on 17 Oct 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In dotCMS, versions mentioned, a flaw in the NormalizationFilter does not strip double slashes (//) from URLs, potentially enabling bypasses for XSS and access controls. An example affected URL is  https://demo.dotcms.com//html/portlet/ext/files/edit_text_inc.jsp , which should return a 404 response but didn't. 

The oversight in the default invalid URL character list can be viewed at the provided  GitHub link https://github.com/dotCMS/core/blob/master/dotCMS/src/main/java/com/dotcms/filters/NormalizationFilter.java#L37 . 

To mitigate, users can block URLs with double slashes at firewalls or utilize dotCMS config variables.

Specifically, they can use the DOT_URI_NORMALIZATION_FORBIDDEN_STRINGS environmental variable to add // to the list of invalid strings. 

Additionally, the DOT_URI_NORMALIZATION_FORBIDDEN_REGEX variable offers more detailed control, for instance, to block //html.* URLs.

Fix Version:23.06+, LTS 22.03.7+, LTS 23.01.4+

Weakness: CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-3042?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Dotcms Dotcms.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-3042?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-3042 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-3042 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-3042 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Dotcms Dotcms

- [CVE-2022-26352](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-26352/): dotCMS Unrestricted Upload of File (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2020-19138](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-19138/): File upload in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-6754](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-6754/): Path traversal in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-5344](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-5344/): SQL injection in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-2355](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-2355/): SQL injection in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-3042 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-3042 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Dotcms Dotcms, published on 17 Oct 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-3042 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Dotcms Dotcms. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-3042/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-3042/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-3042
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-3042
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-3042

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-3042/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.