CVE-2011-5236
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 · uneditedMoneris eSelectPlus 2.03 PHP API does not verify that the server hostname matches a domain name in the subject's Common Name (CN) or subjectAltName field of the X.509 certificate, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof SSL servers via an arbitrary valid certificate.
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 confidenceThe Moneris eSelectPlus 2.03 PHP API fails to validate that the server hostname matches the certificate's Common Name (CN) or subjectAltName field during SSL/TLS connections. This allows an attacker with a valid certificate for any domain to intercept and modify encrypted traffic between the client and legitimate server.
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= 2.03CVSS 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
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:P/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 Moneris eSelectPlus PHP API versionSearch your codebase for the Moneris eSelectPlus API files (typically includes files named 'msEapi*.php' or similar) and check the version declaration within those files or in any version/change log documentationAffected if The version is exactly 2.03 (the only affected version)
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Locate SSL/TLS connection code using the APISearch PHP source files for calls to the Moneris API that initiate HTTPS connections (look for functions like 'httpsPost', 'MpiRequest', or similar payment-related functions)Affected if The codebase uses Moneris eSelectPlus for payment processing over HTTPS
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Inspect stream context options for SSL verificationIn the PHP files that use the Moneris API, look for stream_context_create() calls and check if the context options include 'ssl' with 'verify_peer' and 'verify_peer_name' set to true, or look for these settings in any SSL configuration filesAffected if verify_peer and verify_peer_name are not explicitly set to true, or are set to false
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Inspect cURL configuration for SSL verificationIf the API uses cURL (look for curl_init, curl_setopt calls), check if CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST is set to 2 and CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER is set to 1 for Moneris connectionsAffected if These cURL options are not set or are set to 0/insecure values for payment connections
You are affected if you run Moneris eSelectPlus PHP API version 2.03 and your SSL connections do not explicitly enforce certificate hostname verification via stream context options or cURL settings.
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 dataUpdate the PHP API to enforce proper SSL certificate hostname verification using PHP's built-in SSL verification functions (e.g., setting stream context options verify_peer and verify_peer_name, or configuring cURL with CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYHOST=2 and CURLOPT_SSL_VERIFYPEER=1).
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-5236 — 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-2011-5236 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
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