CVE-2011-4744 in Plesk Panel
Summary
by MITRE
The Control Panel in Parallels Plesk Panel 10.2.0 build 20110407.20 sends incorrect Content-Type headers for certain resources, which might allow remote attackers to have an unspecified impact by leveraging an interpretation conflict involving smb/admin-home/featured-applications/ and certain other files. NOTE: it is possible that only clients, not the Plesk product, could be affected by this issue.
If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 01/15/2018
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-4744 resides within the Parallels Plesk Panel version 10.2.0 build 20110407.20 control panel implementation. This issue manifests through improper Content-Type header configuration for specific resource files within the smb/admin-home/featured-applications/ directory structure and related components. The misconfiguration creates an interpretation conflict that could be exploited by remote attackers to manipulate how web browsers or other HTTP clients process these resources. The vulnerability specifically affects the server's response headers that indicate the type of content being transmitted, which is a fundamental aspect of web security and proper resource handling.
The technical flaw stems from the control panel's failure to properly set Content-Type headers for certain administrative resources. When browsers or HTTP clients receive responses with incorrect or missing Content-Type headers, they may attempt to interpret the content based on file extensions or other heuristics rather than the actual content type. This interpretation conflict can lead to various security implications including potential cross-site scripting attacks, content injection scenarios, or other exploitation vectors that leverage the client-side interpretation of malformed headers. The vulnerability's impact is particularly concerning because it affects administrative interfaces where sensitive operations occur, and the issue may be leveraged to execute unauthorized actions or access restricted resources.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple content delivery issues and could potentially allow remote attackers to compromise the administrative interface of Plesk Panel installations. Attackers might exploit the incorrect Content-Type headers to manipulate how browsers handle specific administrative resources, potentially leading to unauthorized access to featured applications or other administrative functions. The vulnerability's scope appears to be limited to the control panel's resource handling rather than core Plesk functionality, but given that it affects the administrative interface, it could enable attackers to escalate privileges or gain unauthorized access to sensitive system components. This issue particularly affects environments where Plesk Panel serves as the primary hosting control panel solution for multiple client accounts.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability should focus on proper header configuration and implementation of Content-Type validation mechanisms within the Plesk Panel control panel. Administrators should ensure that all resources served through the administrative interface properly declare their Content-Type headers, preventing browsers from making incorrect assumptions about content interpretation. The recommended approach involves implementing strict header validation that aligns with established web security standards and ensuring that all administrative resources explicitly declare their content types. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing web application firewalls or security headers that enforce proper Content-Type handling for sensitive administrative resources. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-693, which addresses protection mechanism failures in web applications, and could be categorized under ATT&CK technique T1190 for exploit development involving web application vulnerabilities. Organizations should also consider applying vendor patches or updates when available, as this issue appears to be a specific implementation flaw that would likely be addressed through proper software maintenance and security updates.