dbcve.org
Parallels Plesk PanelApplication · Parallels

CVE-2011-4738

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2011-12-16
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 Control Panel in Parallels Plesk Panel 10.2.0 build 20110407.20 does not include the HTTPOnly flag in a Set-Cookie header for a cookie, which makes it easier for remote attackers to obtain potentially sensitive information via script access to this cookie, as demonstrated by cookies used by get_password.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 confidence

Parallels Plesk Panel 10.2.0 Control Panel fails to set the HTTPOnly flag on cookies in Set-Cookie headers, specifically in get_password.php and other files. This allows JavaScript access to potentially sensitive cookies (including authentication-related cookies), enabling cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks to steal session credentials.

MitigationAdd the HTTPOnly flag to all Set-Cookie headers in the affected PHP files (get_password.php and related files) to prevent JavaScript access to sensitive cookies.

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
Parallels Plesk PanelApplication
Affected:= 10.2.0_build20110407.20

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
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 checks

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

  1. Confirm Parallels Plesk Panel is installed
    Identify the Plesk Panel installation path on the system. Common locations include /usr/local/psa or /opt/psa. Check for the presence of Plesk administrative directories.
    Affected if Parallels Plesk Panel is not installed on the system.
  2. Verify the installed version matches 10.2.0_build20110407.20
    Locate the Plesk version file or use the Plesk admin interface to display the version information. Common methods include checking /usr/local/psa/version or running 'plesk --version' if available.
    Affected if The installed version is not 10.2.0_build20110407.20.
  3. Locate get_password.php and related PHP files
    Search the Plesk installation directory for get_password.php. Common paths include /usr/local/psa/admin/htdocs/ or /var/www/html/ within the Plesk structure. Use 'find' command: find /usr/local/psa -name 'get_password.php' 2>/dev/null
    Affected if The file get_password.php does not exist in the Plesk installation.
  4. Inspect Set-Cookie headers in the affected PHP files
    Open the located PHP files and search for 'Set-Cookie' or 'setcookie' function calls. Examine the cookie parameters to determine if the 'HttpOnly' flag is included in the cookie configuration.
    Affected if Set-Cookie headers are present without the HttpOnly parameter in the affected PHP files.
  5. Test cookie behavior in a controlled environment
    If possible, access the get_password.php page via a browser or HTTP client and inspect the response headers. Use browser developer tools or a tool like curl -I to view response headers and check whether the session cookies include the HttpOnly attribute.
    Affected if Session cookies returned by the affected pages do not contain the HttpOnly flag in the Set-Cookie header.

The system is affected if Parallels Plesk Panel version 10.2.0_build20110407.20 is installed and the affected PHP files (get_password.php and related files) contain Set-Cookie headers that lack the HttpOnly flag.

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

Add the HTTPOnly flag to all Set-Cookie headers in the affected PHP files (get_password.php and related files) to prevent JavaScript access to sensitive cookies.

Fix this in Parallels Plesk Panel Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,224.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-4738 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2011-4738 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data