CVE-2016-9484
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 generated PHP form code does not properly validate user input folder directories, allowing a remote unauthenticated attacker to perform a path traversal and access arbitrary files on the server. The PHP FormMail Generator website does not use version numbers and is updated continuously. Any PHP form code generated by this website prior to 2016-12-06 may be vulnerable.
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 PHP FormMail Generator produces form handling code that fails to validate user-supplied directory/path input, allowing an attacker to use directory traversal sequences (e.g., ../../) to read sensitive files outside the intended web root. A remote unauthenticated attacker can exploit this by submitting crafted folder/directory parameters in form submissions.
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< 2016-12-06CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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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Locate the generated PHP FormMail codeSearch the web root for PHP files commonly generated by this tool, such as formmail.php, contact.php, or similar form handler files. Check for comments or headers in the code indicating it was generated by 'PHP FormMail Generator' or 'Jqueryform Php Formmail Generator'.Affected if The generated PHP form handling file exists on the server and was created before 2016-12-06
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Check the file creation or modification dateExamine the file creation timestamp or any version/date metadata within the PHP file header. Look for a 'Generated on' or 'Created' date comment in the code.Affected if The file was created or last modified before December 6, 2016
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Identify user-supplied path parameters in the form codeReview the PHP code for parameters that accept user input related to directories, folders, paths, or file operations, such as 'folder', 'directory', 'path', 'file', or similar variable names in $_POST or $_GET superglobals.Affected if The code accepts user-supplied parameters for folder or directory handling without obvious validation logic
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Search for directory traversal validationExamine the PHP code around the path/directory parameter handling to see if there is any validation that strips, blocks, or sanitizes '../' or '..\' sequences before using the input in file operations.Affected if No input validation for '../' sequences is found in the code handling directory or file path parameters
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Inspect file operation usage of user inputLook for functions like file_get_contents, fopen, include, require, or similar file operations that use the user-supplied path parameter directly, without sanitization.Affected if User-supplied path parameters are used directly in file operations without validation
A defender is affected if they have generated PHP form code from this tool with a creation date before 2016-12-06 that uses user-supplied directory/path parameters without validating or blocking directory traversal sequences.
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 data2016-12-06
Regenerate all PHP form code using the tool after 2016-12-06, or manually add input validation that strips or blocks directory traversal sequences (../ and ../) from all user-supplied file/folder parameters before use in file operations.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-9484 — 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-2016-9484 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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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.
- 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