CVE-2011-2156
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 · uneditedThe SmarterTools SmarterStats 6.0 web server allows remote attackers to obtain directory listings via a direct request for the (1) Admin/, (2) Admin/Defaults/, (3) Admin/GettingStarted/, (4) Admin/Popups/, (5) App_Themes/, (6) Client/, (7) Client/Popups/, (8) Services/, (9) Temp/, (10) UserControls/, (11) UserControls/PanelBarTemplates/, (12) UserControls/Popups/, (13) aspnet_client/, or (14) aspnet_client/system_web/ directory name, or (15) certain directory names under App_Themes/Default/.
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 confidenceSmarterTools SmarterStats 6.0 contains a directory listing vulnerability where the web server reveals the contents of multiple directories (Admin/, Client/, Services/, Temp/, UserControls/, aspnet_client/, and subdirectories) when directly accessed via HTTP. This exposes potentially sensitive file listings to unauthenticated remote attackers.
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= 6.0CVSS 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 SmarterStats installationCheck if SmarterStats web service is running on the server, typically on port 80 or 443. Look for the SmarterStats web application in IIS or check running services.Affected if SmarterStats web application is present and accessible
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Confirm installed version is 6.0Check the SmarterStats version by accessing the login page or administrative interface, or inspect the installed binaries. Compare the version against the affected range (= 6.0).Affected if The installed version is exactly 6.0
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Test for directory listing on affected pathsSend HTTP GET requests to each of these paths: /Admin/, /Client/, /Services/, /Temp/, /UserControls/, /aspnet_client/. For each request, check if the response contains a directory listing (list of files/folders) rather than a 403 Forbidden, 404 Not Found, or redirect.Affected if Any of these directories return a directory listing showing file/folder contents
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Inspect IIS directory browsing configurationOn the server, open IIS Manager and check the Directory Browsing feature for the SmarterStats website. Verify if 'Directory Browsing' is enabled, or check the web.config file for the relevant directories.Affected if Directory browsing is enabled in IIS configuration
A server is affected if SmarterStats version 6.0 is installed AND any of the vulnerable directories (Admin/, Client/, Services/, Temp/, UserControls/, aspnet_client/) return directory listings via HTTP.
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 dataDisable directory browsing/listings on the SmarterStats web server by configuring IIS to deny default document requests for the affected directories, or remove unnecessary directory structures from the web root.
- 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-2011-2156 — 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-2011-2156 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