CVE-2010-3909
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 · uneditedIncomplete blacklist vulnerability in config.template.php in vtiger CRM before 5.2.1 allows remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary code by using the draft save feature in the Compose Mail component to upload a file with a .phtml extension, and then accessing this file via a direct request to the file in the storage/ directory tree.
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 confidencevtiger CRM before 5.2.1 contains an incomplete blacklist in config.template.php that allows authenticated users to upload files with dangerous extensions (specifically .phtml) via the Compose Mail draft save feature. The uploaded files are stored in the storage/ directory and can be directly accessed, enabling remote code execution.
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 dataall versions<= 5.2.0= 1.0= 2.0= 2.0.1= 2.1= 3= 3.0= 3.2= 4= 4.0= 4.0.1CVSS 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
- M
- Authentication
- Single
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P
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 vtiger CRM versionLocate the version file in the vtiger installation (typically version.php or similar) and read the version numberAffected if The installed version is 5.2.0 or earlier, or matches any of: 1.0, 2.0, 2.0.1, 2.1, 3, 3.0, 3.2, 4, 4.0, 4.0.1
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Locate config.template.php blacklistFind config.template.php in the vtiger application root directory and inspect the file extension blacklist definitionAffected if The file exists and contains a blacklist but does not block .phtml extensions, or the blacklist is empty or incomplete
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Verify storage directory is web-accessibleCheck whether the storage/ folder is located within the web root (public_html, htdocs, or similar) and can be accessed directly via HTTPAffected if The storage/ directory is accessible from the web, allowing direct retrieval of uploaded files
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Inspect storage directory for dangerous filesList all files in the storage/ directory and look for .phtml, .php, .php5, or other script file extensionsAffected if Any .phtml files or other executable scripts are present in the storage/ directory
The environment is affected if the vtiger CRM version is 5.2.0 or earlier and the storage/ directory is web-accessible with an incomplete file extension blacklist in config.template.php.
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 dataUpgrade vtiger CRM to version 5.2.1 or later. Additionally, implement proper file upload validation using an allowlist approach rather than a blacklist, store uploaded files outside the web root, and disable script execution in upload directories.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing5.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,464.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2010-3909 — 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-2010-3909 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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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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