CVE-2011-3783
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 · uneditedphpMyFAQ 2.6.13 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 lang/language_uk.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 confidencephpMyFAQ 2.6.13 contains an information disclosure vulnerability where directly requesting certain PHP files (such as lang/language_uk.php) causes the application to reveal the full installation path in error messages. This path disclosure occurs because these files can be executed directly without proper initialization, unlike when they are included through the main application entry point.
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= 2.6.13CVSS 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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Confirm phpMyFAQ versionLocate the version file or check the header of the main index.php file. Common locations include a VERSION file in the root directory or a version constant defined in the source code.Affected if The installed version is exactly 2.6.13 (not higher or lower)
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Test direct access to language filesSend an HTTP request directly to lang/language_uk.php (or similar language files in the lang/ directory) via curl or browser, for example: http://yourserver/path/to/phpmyfaq/lang/language_uk.phpAffected if The response contains error messages that reveal the full server filesystem path to the phpMyFAQ installation directory
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Check error message contentExamine the error output from step 2 - look for messages such as 'Fatal error', 'Notice', or 'Warning' that include path strings like '/var/www/html/phpmyfaq/' or 'C:\inetpub\wwwroot\phpmyfaq\'Affected if Full absolute paths to the application directory appear in any error, warning, or fatal error message
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Verify normal included access does not leak pathsAccess the same language file properly through the main application entry point (index.php) and verify error messages do not contain installation paths when the application initializes normallyAffected if Direct access reveals paths but included access does not, confirming the initialization-dependent nature of this flaw
You are affected if phpMyFAQ version 2.6.13 is installed AND direct HTTP requests to language files (like lang/language_uk.php) produce error messages exposing the server's absolute installation 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 dataDeploy .htaccess rules (Apache) or equivalent web server configuration to deny direct HTTP access to include files, language files, and other utility PHP files that should only be loaded via the application's main entry point.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-3783 — 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-2011-3783 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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- 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