CVE-2023-40747
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 · uneditedDirectory traversal vulnerability exists in A.K.I Software's PMailServer/PMailServer2 products' CGIs included in Internal Simple Webserver. If this vulnerability is exploited, a remote attacker may access arbitrary files outside DocumentRoot.
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 confidenceDirectory traversal vulnerability in the CGI components of A.K.I Software's PMailServer/PMailServer2 products bundled with Internal Simple Webserver allows remote attackers to use path traversal sequences to access arbitrary files outside the web root DocumentRoot.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/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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Identify PMailServer installationSearch for PMailServer or PMailServer2 executables, services, or installation directories on the system. Check common installation paths or use system search tools to locate 'PMailServer' or 'PMAILSVR' binaries.Affected if PMailServer or PMailServer2 software is found installed on the system
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Locate Internal Simple WebserverWithin the PMailServer installation directory, identify if the Internal Simple Webserver component is present. Look for web server executables or configuration files bundled with PMailServer.Affected if Internal Simple Webserver component is bundled and running with PMailServer
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Verify CGI functionality is enabledCheck the web server configuration for PMailServer to determine if CGI support is enabled. Look for CGI executable mappings or cgi-bin directories in the web server settings.Affected if CGI execution is permitted on the web server
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Test for directory traversal vulnerabilityIf CGI components are accessible, send HTTP requests with '../' path traversal sequences (such as /cgi-bin/../../../etc/passwd or similar) to CGI endpoints and observe if files outside the DocumentRoot are returned.Affected if CGI endpoints return files from outside the configured DocumentRoot using path traversal sequences
The environment is affected if PMailServer or PMailServer2 with Internal Simple Webserver is installed and CGI components are enabled, allowing path traversal access to files outside the web root.
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 dataImplement strict input validation on all file path parameters in CGIs to reject ../ sequences, apply web server access controls to restrict file system access outside DocumentRoot, and apply any available vendor patches.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-40747 — 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-2023-40747 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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