dbcve.org
ProjectsendApplication

CVE-2016-10733

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-10-29
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
ProjectSend (formerly cFTP) r582 allows directory traversal via file=../ in the process-zip-download.php query string.

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

ProjectSend r582 contains a directory traversal vulnerability in process-zip-download.php. The application fails to sanitize the 'file' parameter in the query string, allowing attackers to use '../' sequences to escape the intended directory and access sensitive files outside the web root.

MitigationImplement strict input validation on the file parameter to reject path traversal sequences (../) and restrict file access to allowed directories only. Validate that the requested file exists within an approved base directory.

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
ProjectsendApplication
Affected:= 582

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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. Identify if ProjectSend is installed
    Check your web server directories for the ProjectSend application files. Look for directories containing ProjectSend CMS files, typically found in /var/www/html/ or similar web root locations.
    Affected if ProjectSend is present on the server
  2. Check the installed ProjectSend version
    Locate the version file or header in the ProjectSend installation. Check version.php, README, or CHANGELOG files typically included in the root of the ProjectSend distribution.
    Affected if The version is exactly r582 (version 582)
  3. Verify process-zip-download.php exists
    Check if the file process-zip-download.php exists within the ProjectSend web directory, typically in the root or includes folder of the installation.
    Affected if The file process-zip-download.php exists in the web-accessible directory
  4. Test the file parameter for path traversal
    Review the source code of process-zip-download.php to confirm the 'file' query parameter is used without sanitization of '../' sequences. Alternatively, send a test request with a path like file=../config.php (do not execute, only observe if the parameter is passed unsanitized to file operations).
    Affected if The 'file' parameter accepts and processes path traversal sequences without validation

You are affected if ProjectSend version r582 is installed and the process-zip-download.php file is accessible with the 'file' parameter accepting unsanitized path traversal input.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Implement strict input validation on the file parameter to reject path traversal sequences (../) and restrict file access to allowed directories only. Validate that the requested file exists within an approved base directory.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest stable ProjectSend release (version > r582)

  1. 1. Identify your current ProjectSend version by checking the version.php file or admin panel.
  2. 2. Download the latest stable release of ProjectSend from the official GitHub repository (github.com/projectsend/projectsend).
  3. 3. Backup your existing ProjectSend database and files before upgrading.
  4. 4. Replace the existing files with the new version, preserving your configuration and database connection settings.
  5. 5. Verify that process-zip-download.php now properly sanitizes the file parameter, blocking directory traversal sequences like ../
  6. 6. Test the zip download functionality to confirm normal operation works correctly.
  7. 7. Confirm the vulnerability is no longer exploitable by attempting a path traversal request (e.g., ?file=../config.php).
Caveat Review release notes for any breaking changes between r582 and the target version; database migrations may be required.

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Projectsend Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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-2016-10733 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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