CVE-2008-6521
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedindex.php in Terracotta (aka OpenTerracotta) 0.6.1 allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information via an invalid File parameter, which reveals the installation path in an error message.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceindex.php in Terracotta (OpenTerracotta) 0.6.1 exposes the full installation path in error messages when an invalid File parameter is provided. This path disclosure occurs because the application does not properly handle error conditions, allowing remote unauthenticated attackers to gather sensitive filesystem information about the server environment.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 0.6.1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:N/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm OpenTerracotta version 0.6.1 is installedLocate and inspect the OpenTerracotta installation directory. Check any version manifests, About pages, or the index.php file header for version information.Affected if The installed version is OpenTerracotta 0.6.1 (exact match).
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Verify the web interface is accessibleAttempt to access index.php via HTTP/HTTPS on the host where OpenTerracotta is deployed.Affected if The index.php file is accessible over the network.
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Test for path disclosure with invalid File parameterSend an HTTP request to index.php with a malformed or invalid 'File' parameter (for example: ?File=invalid_path or omit the parameter entirely).Affected if The response contains full filesystem paths in error messages.
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Inspect error message contentCapture and examine the full HTTP response from the previous test. Look for absolute paths such as /var/www, C:\inetpub, or similar directory structures.Affected if The error output reveals absolute installation paths or server directory structures.
A user is affected if OpenTerracotta version 0.6.1 is running and the index.php script displays full filesystem paths in error messages when given invalid input.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataImplement proper error handling in index.php to catch exceptions and display generic error messages without exposing filesystem paths. Additionally, configure the web server to suppress detailed PHP errors from being displayed to end users.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,744.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-6521 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2008-6521 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data