Parallels Plesk up to 9.5.4 Request /phppath/php command injection ⚔ [Disputed]

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8.0$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability labeled as critical has been found in Parallels Plesk up to 9.5.4. This vulnerability affects unknown code of the file /phppath/php of the component Request Handler. The manipulation results in input validation. This vulnerability is reported as CVE-2012-1823. Moreover, an exploit is present. The presence of this vulnerability remains uncertain at this time. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in Parallels Plesk up to 9.5.4 (Hosting Control Software). Affected is an unknown part of the file /phppath/php of the component Request Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a input validation vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-77. The product constructs all or part of a command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended command when it is sent to a downstream component. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, and integrity. CVE summarizes:

sapi/cgi/cgi_main.c in PHP before 5.3.12 and 5.4.x before 5.4.2, when configured as a CGI script (aka php-cgi), does not properly handle query strings that lack an = (equals sign) character, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by placing command-line options in the query string, related to lack of skipping a certain php_getopt for the 'd' case.

The weakness was disclosed 06/05/2013 by De Eindbazen (kingcope) as Plesk Apache Zeroday Remote Exploit as confirmed mailinglist post (Full-Disclosure). The advisory is shared for download at seclists.org. The public release happened without coordination with the vendor. The official statement of Parallels explains: "This vulnerability is a variation of the long known CVE-2012-1823 vulnerability related to the CGI mode of PHP only in older Plesks." Sucuri Blog notes, that an exploitation might have happened in April 2013 already: "As we went back to our logs and previous data, we noticed a few hits for “/phppath/php” in May of 2013. As we searched further back, we found scans as far back as April:" This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2012-1823 since 03/21/2012. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. The exploitation doesn't require any form of authentication. Technical details and a public exploit are known. The MITRE ATT&CK project declares the attack technique as T1202.

A public exploit has been developed by kingcope (kingcope) in Perl and been published immediately after the advisory. The exploit is shared for download at seclists.org. It is declared as attacked. The real existence of this vulnerability is still doubted at the moment. The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 74630 (openSUSE Security Update : php5 (openSUSE-2012-288)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment. It is assigned to the family SuSE Local Security Checks. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 185005 (HP-UX Apache Web Server Running PHP Denial of Service Vulenrability (HPSBUX02791)). This issue was added on 03/25/2022 to the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog with a due date of 04/15/2022:

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Upgrading to version 9.5.x, 10.x or 11.x eliminates this vulnerability. It is possible to mitigate the problem by applying the configuration setting .htaccess config. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version. The official statement by Prallels suggests: "All currently supported versions of Parallels Plesk Panel 9.5, 10.x and 11.x, as well Parallels Plesk Automation, are not vulnerable. If a customer is using legacy, and a no longer supported version of Parallels Plesk Panel, they should upgrade to the latest version. For the legacy versions of Parallels Plesk Panel, we provided a suggested and unsupported workaround described in http://kb.parallels.com/en/113818." Attack attempts may be identified with Snort ID 22063. Furthermore it is possible to detect and prevent this kind of attack with TippingPoint and the filter 12347.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Exploit-DB (29290), Tenable (74630), SecurityFocus (BID 53388†), OSVDB (93979†) and Secunia (SA53596†). Further details are available at pcworld.com. The entries VDB-4600, VDB-5319, VDB-60825 and VDB-60731 are pretty similar. Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

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CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 8.1
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 8.0

VulDB Base Score: 6.5
VulDB Temp Score: 6.2
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NVD Base Score: 9.8
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CVSSv2info

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Exploitinginfo

Class: Command injection
CWE: CWE-77 / CWE-74 / CWE-707
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ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔍
Access: Public
Status: Attacked
Author: kingcope (kingcope)
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Nessus ID: 74630
Nessus Name: openSUSE Security Update : php5 (openSUSE-2012-288)
Nessus File: 🔍
Nessus Risk: 🔍
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OpenVAS ID: 71344
OpenVAS Name: Debian Security Advisory DSA 2465-1 (php5)
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Saint ID: exploit_info/php_cgi_arg_rce
Saint Name: PHP CGI Query String Parameters Command Execution

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MetaSploit ID: php_cgi_arg_injection.rb
MetaSploit Name: PHP CGI Argument Injection
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Threat Intelligenceinfo

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Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
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Exploit Delay Time: 🔍

Upgrade: Plesk 9.5.x/10.x/11.x
Config: .htaccess config
Workaround: kb.parallels.com

Snort ID: 22063
Snort Message: SERVER-WEBAPP PHP-CGI remote file include attempt
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Suricata ID: 2014704
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Timelineinfo

03/21/2012 🔍
05/03/2012 +43 days 🔍
05/04/2012 +1 days 🔍
05/04/2012 +0 days 🔍
05/07/2012 +3 days 🔍
05/11/2012 +4 days 🔍
06/05/2013 +390 days 🔍
06/05/2013 +0 days 🔍
06/07/2013 +2 days 🔍
10/29/2013 +144 days 🔍
06/13/2014 +227 days 🔍
11/04/2025 +4162 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: parallels.com

Advisory: Plesk Apache Zeroday Remote Exploit
Researcher: De Eindbazen (kingcope)
Status: Confirmed
Confirmation: 🔍
Disputed: 🔍

CVE: CVE-2012-1823 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2012-1823
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-9012

OVAL: 🔍

CERT: 🔍
SecurityFocus: 53388 - PHP 'php-cgi' Information Disclosure Vulnerability
Secunia: 53596 - Parallels Plesk Panel PHP CGI Arbitrary PHP Code Execution Vulnerability, Highly Critical
OSVDB: 93979
SecurityTracker: 1027022 - PHP Command Parameter Bug Lets Remote Users Obtain Potentially Sensitive Information and Execute Arbitrary Code
Vulnerability Center: 34990 - PHP 5.3-5.3.12 and 5.4-5.4.2 PHP-CGI Source Code Disclosure Vulnerability, High

scip Labs: https://www.scip.ch/en/?labs.20161013
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Entryinfo

Created: 06/07/2013 17:56
Updated: 11/04/2025 20:23
Changes: 06/07/2013 17:56 (113), 04/11/2017 11:13 (14), 05/14/2021 12:18 (3), 04/24/2024 08:35 (28), 06/10/2024 20:46 (1), 07/16/2024 22:47 (11), 09/09/2024 22:29 (1), 12/24/2024 02:17 (1), 01/06/2025 21:33 (1), 11/04/2025 20:23 (1)
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Cache ID: 216:7AD:103

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