CVE-2011-3779
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 · uneditedPhpHostBot 2.0 allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information via a direct request to a .php file, which reveals the installation path in an error message, as demonstrated by admin/create_acct.php and certain other files.
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 confidencePhpHostBot 2.0 contains multiple PHP scripts (such as admin/create_acct.php) that expose the full server installation path when accessed directly, due to improper error handling that displays verbose PHP error messages. This information disclosure aids attackers in reconnaissance for further exploitation.
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= 2.0CVSS 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 PhpHostBot installationLocate the web application's root directory and check for the presence of PhpHostBot by examining typical installation paths or configuration files that reference 'Phphostbot' or 'phpbot'.Affected if PhpHostBot software is present on the server.
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Verify the installed version is 2.0Examine version files, about pages, or configuration files within the PhpHostBot installation that contain the version number. Compare your installed version against the affected range (version 2.0).Affected if The installed version is exactly 2.0.
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Check PHP error display configurationLocate the PHP configuration file (php.ini) or check the runtime PHP configuration via phpinfo() to determine if display_errors is set to On. This setting controls whether PHP errors are shown to visitors.Affected if display_errors is enabled (On) in the PHP configuration.
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Test direct access to admin/create_acct.phpAttempt to access the script directly via HTTP request to the path /admin/create_acct.php (or the equivalent path in your installation). Observe whether the response includes verbose PHP error messages or reveals the server's full installation path.Affected if Accessing the script directly displays full server path information in error messages.
You are affected if PhpHostBot version 2.0 is installed with PHP error display enabled and direct access to admin/create_acct.php reveals the server path.
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 PHP error display and logging in production configuration (display_errors=Off, error_reporting=0), and implement access controls or proper routing to prevent direct access to administrative/includes scripts.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-3779 — 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-2011-3779 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