DOM XSS in innerHTML sink using source location.search¶

Description¶

The website in this lab contains a DOM-based cross-site scripting vulnerability in the search blog functionality. It uses an innerHTML assignment, which changes the HTML contents of a div element, using data from location.search.

Reproduction and proof of concept¶

1. If there is a query in the location.search variable (the URL input), document.getElementById gets the element with ID searchMessage. Then it will set its innerHTML to the query. Enter into the search box:

<img src=x onerror=alert(1)>

During the rendering of the page, the image fails to load. This will raise the JavaScript alert box, confirming the XSS vulnerability.