CVE-2011-1654
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 · uneditedDirectory traversal vulnerability in the Heartbeat Web Service in CA.Itm.Server.ManagementWS.dll in the Management Server in CA Total Defense (TD) r12 before SE2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via directory traversal sequences in the GUID parameter in an upload request to FileUploadHandler.ashx.
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 confidenceA directory traversal vulnerability exists in the Heartbeat Web Service (CA.Itm.Server.ManagementWS.dll) of CA Total Defense r12 Management Server. The flaw is in FileUploadHandler.ashx where the GUID parameter is not properly sanitized, allowing attackers to use '../' sequences to write files to arbitrary locations on the server, leading to 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 data= r12CVSS 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
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/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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Confirm CA Total Defense r12 is installedCheck the installed version of CA Total Defense through the program's About or version information, or check the installed programs list in the system. Look for a version equal to r12.Affected if The installed version is exactly CA Total Defense r12 (no later SE1/SE2 patch applied).
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Verify Heartbeat Web Service component existsCheck for the presence of CA.Itm.Server.ManagementWS.dll in the installation directory, typically under the Management Server's web service or bin folder.Affected if The DLL CA.Itm.Server.ManagementWS.dll exists on the system.
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Locate FileUploadHandler.ashxSearch for FileUploadHandler.ashx in the web application's handlers or upload-related directories within the Management Server installation path.Affected if FileUploadHandler.ashx is present in the web service directories.
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Check if Management Server web interface is accessibleVerify if the Heartbeat Web Service endpoint is accessible on the network. This typically involves checking if port 443 or the Management Server web port is listening and exposed.Affected if The Management Server web service is running and accessible (even internally), as this provides the attack surface for the vulnerability.
A system is affected if it runs exactly CA Total Defense r12 (without SE2 patch) and has the Heartbeat Web Service with FileUploadHandler.ashx enabled and accessible.
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 to CA Total Defense r12 SE2 or later which contains the fix. Additionally, implement strict input validation on the GUID parameter and restrict upload directories to prevent arbitrary file write locations.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-1654 — 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-2011-1654 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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