CVE-2022-35740
dotCMS before 22.06 allows remote attackers to bypass intended access control and obtain sensitive information by using a semicolon in a URL to introduce a matrix parameter.
Does this matter?
Lower severity and a low EPSS score (1.31%). Track it; it rarely justifies an emergency change on its own.
Description
dotCMS before 22.06 allows remote attackers to bypass intended access control and obtain sensitive information by using a semicolon in a URL to introduce a matrix parameter. (This is also fixed in 5.3.8.12, 21.06.9, and 22.03.2 for LTS users.) Some Java application frameworks, including those used by Spring or Tomcat, allow the use of matrix parameters: these are URI parameters separated by semicolons. Through precise semicolon placement in a URI, it is possible to exploit this feature to avoid dotCMS's path-based XSS prevention (such as "require login" filters), and consequently access restricted resources. For example, an attacker could place a semicolon immediately before a / character that separates elements of a filesystem path. This could reveal file content that is ordinarily only visible to signed-in users. This issue can be chained with other exploit code to achieve XSS attacks against dotCMS.
- CVSS 3.1
- 6.1 MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
- EPSS
- 1.31% probability · 70th percentile
- Public exploits
- None in Exploit-DB
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-79
- Affected
- dotcms/dotcms
- Source
- cve@mitre.org
EPSS 1.3% since 26 October 2026; no change recorded yet. Points are recorded when the score first appears and whenever it moves by a percentage point or more.
References
- https://github.com/dotCMS/patches-hotfixes/tree/master/com.dotcms.security.matrixparamsExploit, Third Party Advisory
- https://www.dotcms.com/security/SI-63Exploit, Mitigation, Vendor Advisory
- https://github.com/dotCMS/patches-hotfixes/tree/master/com.dotcms.security.matrixparamsExploit, Third Party Advisory
- https://www.dotcms.com/security/SI-63Exploit, Mitigation, Vendor Advisory
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.