CVE-2012-4674
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 · uneditedPluXml before 5.1.6 allows remote attackers to obtain the installation path via the PHPSESSID.
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 confidencePluXml before version 5.1.6 contains an information disclosure vulnerability where the PHPSESSID cookie is improperly handled, allowing remote attackers to discover the web application's installation path. This path disclosure could aid 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<= 5.1.5CVSS 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 PluXml installationLook for PluXml characteristic files in the web root, such as index.php, core/admin.php, or the config.php configuration fileAffected if PluXml is present on the server
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Identify PluXml versionOpen the core/lib/class.pluxml.php or version.php file and locate the version definition, or check the changelog file if availableAffected if The installed version is 5.1.5 or earlier
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Test for path disclosure via cookieSend a request to the PluXml site with an invalid or manipulated PHPSESSID cookie value and observe any error messages that reveal the full server file pathAffected if Error messages display the full filesystem path to the PluXml installation directory
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Check PHP error handling configurationReview the PHP configuration file (php.ini) for display_errors setting, or check if the application logs errors to a file that could expose pathsAffected if display_errors is enabled and PHP warnings or errors are shown in responses
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Inspect application response headersSend a request to the PluXml login or admin area and examine response headers for any server path information or unusual PHPSESSID behaviorAffected if Headers or responses contain absolute filesystem paths
A user is affected if PluXml version 5.1.5 or earlier is installed and the application exposes the installation directory path through error messages or cookie handling responses.
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 dataUpgrade PluXml to version 5.1.6 or later to remediate this vulnerability. As a secondary measure, ensure PHP session configuration does not expose full paths in error messages.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-4674 — 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-2012-4674 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