CVE-2011-4728
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 Server Administration Panel in Parallels Plesk Panel 10.2.0_build1011110331.18 does not set the secure flag for a cookie in an https session, which makes it easier for remote attackers to capture this cookie by intercepting its transmission within an http session, as demonstrated by cookies used by login_up.php3 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 · moderate confidenceParallels Plesk Panel 10.2.0 Server Administration Panel fails to set the secure flag on session cookies during HTTPS sessions. Without this flag, cookies can be transmitted over insecure HTTP connections, allowing attackers on the same network to intercept authentication cookies (as demonstrated in login_up.php3) and hijack admin sessions.
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= 10.2.0_build1011110331.18CVSS 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 Plesk Panel installationLocate the Plesk Panel installation directory - typically at /usr/local/psa or C:\Program Files\Parallels\Plesk Panel. Look for the admin panel interface or check if the 'sw-cp-server' or 'psa' services are running.Affected if Plesk Panel is not installed on the system.
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Check installed Plesk Panel versionRun the Plesk version check command: 'plesk --version' or check the file /usr/local/psa/version. Alternatively, access the admin panel and navigate to Server > License Management to view the version details. Look specifically for version 10.2.0_build1011110331.18.Affected if The installed version is 10.2.0_build1011110331.18.
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Verify HTTPS is enabled but Secure flag is missingAccess the Plesk Panel login page over HTTPS (e.g., https://your-server:8443/login_up.php3). Use browser developer tools or a packet capture tool (like Wireshark) to inspect the Set-Cookie headers. Check if the session cookies include the 'Secure' attribute.Affected if HTTPS is enabled for the login page, but session cookies do NOT include the 'Secure' flag in the Set-Cookie header.
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Inspect login_up.php3 cookie configurationExamine the PHP source file login_up.php3 in the Plesk admin directory (typically in /usr/local/psa/admin/htdocs/). Look for session_set_cookie_params() calls or Set-Cookie header generation code to verify if the 'secure' parameter is set to true.Affected if The code does not set the 'secure' flag to true when setting cookies during HTTPS sessions.
The system is affected if Parallels Plesk Panel version 10.2.0_build1011110331.18 is installed and session cookies sent over HTTPS are missing the Secure flag, allowing interception on HTTP connections.
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 dataConfigure the affected cookies (login_up.php3 and related authentication cookies) to include the 'Secure' flag, ensuring they are only transmitted over encrypted HTTPS connections.
- 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-2011-4728 — 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-2011-4728 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
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