CVE-2026-12116
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 · uneditedA vulnerability in the Xerte Online Tools allows for RCE through the antivirus binary path in the tools server settings, which can be changed to a PHP interpreter, allowing an attacker to upload PHP data that will then be executed.
In the news
Third-party coverageSurfaced from public web coverage — external links open in a new tab.
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 confidenceRemote code execution vulnerability in Xerte Online Tools where attackers can manipulate the antivirus binary path setting in server configuration to point to a PHP interpreter, then upload malicious PHP files that get executed on the server.
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
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Xerte Online Tools installation and versionLocate the Xerte installation directory (commonly at /var/www/xerte, /opt/xerte, or C:\inetpub\xerte on Windows). Check for a version.php or version.txt file within the installation, or look for the version string in the main index.php or includes file.Affected if The installed version is any version of Xerte Online Tools where the antivirus binary path setting can be modified through the web interface or configuration files.
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Inspect antivirus binary path configuration settingAccess the server configuration panel in Xerte (typically at /admin or /settings). Navigate to the antivirus or security settings section. Identify the 'antivirus binary path' or 'AV path' configuration field. Alternatively, inspect the config file (often config.php or site_settings.php) for any path value assigned to antivirus settings.Affected if The antivirus binary path is set to a PHP interpreter (such as php, php-cgi, or a full path to php.exe) or is writable/modifiable by low-privilege users.
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Verify upload directory PHP execution statusLocate the upload directories configured in Xerte (commonly /uploads, /USER-FILES, or a dedicated storage path). Check the web server configuration (Apache .htaccess, Nginx config) or file system permissions to determine if PHP scripts can be executed from these directories. For Apache, check for 'AllowOverride None' with 'Options +ExecCGI' in upload paths. For Nginx, check for 'location' blocks handling upload paths.Affected if PHP execution is permitted within upload directories (no restrictions in .htaccess, nginx config, or file permissions blocking .php file execution).
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Review configuration file permissions and access controlsCheck file system permissions on the main configuration file (config.php, site_settings.php, or similar). Use 'ls -la' on Unix or check Security properties on Windows. Verify that the web server runs with restricted privileges and that configuration files are not world-writable.Affected if Configuration files containing the antivirus binary path setting are writable by the web server process or by unauthorized users, allowing path manipulation.
A user is affected if Xerte Online Tools is installed with a configurable antivirus binary path that can be pointed to a PHP interpreter while upload directories permit PHP file execution.
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 dataImmediately restrict administrative access to server settings, validate and sanitize the antivirus binary path configuration, disable PHP execution in upload directories, and apply vendor security patches when available.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,968.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-12116 — 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-2026-12116 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