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SmarterstatsApplication · Smartertools

CVE-2011-2150

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2011-05-20
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
The SmarterTools SmarterStats 6.0 web server does not properly validate string data that is intended for storage in an XML document, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (parsing error and daemon pause) via vectors involving (1) certain cookies in a SiteInfoLookup action to Admin/frmSites.aspx, or certain (2) cookies or (3) parameters to (a) Client/frmViewOverviewReport.aspx, (b) Client/frmViewReports.aspx, or (c) Services/SiteAdmin.asmx, as demonstrated by a ]]>> string, related to an "XML injection" issue.

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

SmarterStats 6.0 fails to validate user-supplied strings before embedding them in XML documents. Attackers can inject malformed XML sequences (demonstrated with ]]>>) via cookies or parameters to specific pages (Admin/frmSites.aspx, Client/frmViewOverviewReport.aspx, Client/frmViewReports.aspx, Services/SiteAdmin.asmx), causing XML parsing errors that result in denial of service.

MitigationImplement strict input validation and proper XML encoding for all user-supplied data before XML generation. Consider upgrading to a patched version of SmarterStats if available, or implementing a Web Application Firewall as a temporary measure.

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
SmarterstatsApplication
Affected:= 6.0

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Partial

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

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

  1. Confirm SmarterStats installation and version
    Check the installed version of SmarterStats by inspecting the application binary files, version information in the Windows program properties, or the SmarterStats administration interface (typically at /Admin or /Login). Look for version number 6.0 specifically.
    Affected if SmarterStats version 6.0 is installed and running
  2. Identify accessible affected endpoints
    Probe the application for the following paths: /Admin/frmSites.aspx, /Client/frmViewOverviewReport.aspx, /Client/frmViewReports.aspx, /Services/SiteAdmin.asmx. Attempt to access each endpoint via HTTP GET or POST requests.
    Affected if Any of these four endpoints return HTTP 200 responses, indicating they are accessible
  3. Verify XML processing with user input
    Send a request to any of the affected pages with a parameter or cookie containing XML special characters such as ]]> or ]]>>. Observe whether the application returns an XML parsing error or fails to handle the input gracefully.
    Affected if The application returns XML parsing errors, exception messages, or becomes unresponsive when XML special characters are submitted
  4. Check for XML injection vulnerability indicators
    Review server response headers and error pages. Look for error messages indicating XML parsing failures, malformed XML document errors, or stack traces referencing XML processing libraries when malformed input is provided.
    Affected if XML-related error messages appear in responses containing user-supplied XML metacharacters

A system is affected if SmarterStats version 6.0 is installed and the vulnerable pages are accessible and fail to properly sanitize XML special characters in user input, resulting in parsing errors or denial of service.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Implement strict input validation and proper XML encoding for all user-supplied data before XML generation. Consider upgrading to a patched version of SmarterStats if available, or implementing a Web Application Firewall as a temporary measure.

Fix this in Smarterstats Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2011-2150 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

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