CVE-2009-4254
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 · uneditedPowerPhlogger 2.2.5 allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information via a direct request to (1) edCss.inc.php, (2) foot.inc.php, (3) get_csscolors.inc.php, (4) head.inc.php, (5) head_stuff.inc.php, (6) loglist.inc.php, and (7) pphlogger_send.inc.php in include/, 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 confidencePowerPhlogger 2.2.5 contains multiple PHP include files in the include/ directory that can be directly accessed via HTTP. When requested directly, these files fail to load their dependencies and expose PHP error messages revealing the server's full installation path. This is a classic full path disclosure (FPD) vulnerability.
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= 2.2.5CVSS 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
- Partial
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/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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Identify PowerPhlogger installation and versionLocate the PowerPhlogger installation directory on your web server. Check for a version file, README, or the main index.php to confirm the installed version is 2.2.5.Affected if PowerPhlogger version 2.2.5 is installed on the server.
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Verify include directory is web-accessibleAttempt to directly access a PHP file from the include/ directory via HTTP (for example: http://yourdomain.com/include/somefile.php). If the server responds instead of blocking the request, the directory is web-accessible.Affected if Direct HTTP requests to files in the include/ directory are permitted and return a response.
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Check for path disclosure in error messagesRequest the include file directly (as above) and examine the PHP error output. If full server paths are visible in error messages, the vulnerability is present.Affected if PHP error messages expose the full server file system path when include files are accessed directly.
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Verify PHP display_errors settingCheck the PHP configuration (phpinfo() or php.ini) to determine if display_errors is enabled. This setting controls whether PHP outputs errors to the browser.Affected if display_errors is set to On, allowing error messages (and thus full paths) to be displayed to visitors.
You are affected if PowerPhlogger 2.2.5 is installed, the include/ directory accepts direct HTTP requests, and PHP display_errors is enabled, resulting in full server paths being exposed in error messages.
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 dataRestrict direct web access to all include files by placing them outside the webroot or using .htaccess rules to deny direct requests (returning 403 Forbidden). Additionally, disable display_errors in production PHP configuration to prevent error messages from being shown.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2009-4254 — 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-2009-4254 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
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