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MapserverApplication · Osgeo

CVE-2010-2540

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2010-08-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 5.6.3 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
mapserv.c in mapserv in MapServer before 4.10.6 and 5.x before 5.6.4 does not properly restrict the use of CGI command-line arguments that were intended for debugging, which allows remote attackers to have an unspecified impact via crafted arguments.

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 confidence

mapserv.c in the MapServer CGI binary fails to restrict debugging command-line arguments that should only be available locally. This allows remote attackers to inject potentially dangerous CGI arguments, likely enabling remote code execution on the server hosting the vulnerable mapserv binary.

MitigationUpgrade MapServer to version 4.10.6 or 5.6.4 or later to obtain the fixed binary. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, restrict access to the mapserv CGI executable or disable it entirely if not required.

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
MapserverApplication
Affected:<= 4.10.5= 4.2.0= 4.4.0= 4.6.0= 4.8.0= 4.10.0= 4.10.1= 4.10.2= 4.10.3= 4.10.4<= 5.6.3= 5.0.0
MapserverApplication
Affected:= 4.0

CVSS 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
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed MapServer version
    Locate the mapserv CGI binary on the system (commonly in /cgi-bin/ or /usr/lib/cgi-bin/) and run 'mapserv -v' or check the binary metadata for version information
    Affected if The version matches any of the following: Osgeo Mapserver <=4.10.5, 4.2.0, 4.4.0, 4.6.0, 4.8.0, 4.10.0-4.10.4, <=5.6.3, 5.0.0; Umn Mapserver 4.0
  2. Verify mapserv CGI is web-accessible
    Check web server configuration for any Alias or ScriptAlias directive pointing to the mapserv binary, or attempt to access the mapserv URL via HTTP request (e.g., GET /cgi-bin/mapserv)
    Affected if The mapserv CGI binary is accessible via web (HTTP/HTTPS) and responds to requests
  3. Confirm the CGI interface is enabled
    Review the web server configuration (Apache httpd.conf, nginx config) to determine if CGI execution is permitted for the mapserv binary, or check if the file has executable permissions and is located in a CGI-enabled directory
    Affected if CGI execution is enabled and the mapserv binary can be invoked through web requests
  4. Test for vulnerable debugging parameters
    Send a request to the mapserv CGI with query parameters that trigger debug functionality (such as 'mode=map' with debug-enabled mapfile references), and observe if the server returns detailed error messages or debug output
    Affected if The CGI responds with debug output, stack traces, or detailed error information accessible remotely

The environment is affected if the installed MapServer version falls within the vulnerable version ranges AND the mapserv CGI binary is web-accessible, allowing remote attackers to inject debugging arguments.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 5.6.3
Interim mitigation

Upgrade MapServer to version 4.10.6 or 5.6.4 or later to obtain the fixed binary. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, restrict access to the mapserv CGI executable or disable it entirely if not required.

Recommended fix High confidence

MapServer 4.10.6 or later (5.x users should upgrade to 5.6.4 or later; preferably latest 6.x/7.x)

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed MapServer version using 'mapserv -v' or checking the package manager
  2. 2. Back up the current MapServer configuration files (mapfile, mapserver.conf) and CGI binary
  3. 3. For production systems using MapServer 4.x: upgrade to version 4.10.6 or later
  4. 4. For production systems using MapServer 5.x: upgrade to version 5.6.4 or later
  5. 5. Ideally, migrate to the latest stable version (6.x or 7.x) which contains additional security fixes
  6. 6. Restore the backed-up configuration files to the new installation
  7. 7. Verify the mapserv CGI binary responds correctly with 'mapserv -v'
  8. 8. Test that MapServer serves maps correctly with a known mapfile
Caveat Review MapServer release notes for your version jump as mapfile syntax and CGI parameter handling may have changed

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Mapserver Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2010-2540 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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