VulnerabilityPublished 12 Jul 2024Updated 2 Aug 2024

CVE-2024-40543: PublicCMS · Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)

Affects PublicCMSSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.4 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 10:12 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.4Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 22% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Changed
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: Low
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
Confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 12 Jul 2024
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
GitHubsanluan/PublicCMS`pkg:github/sanluan/PublicCMS`Other threats	Affected =4.0.202302	Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

Restrict access to the /admin/ueditor endpoint to trusted administrative IP addresses or VPNs to reduce exposure.
Implement strict input validation and URL whitelisting on the catchimage parameter to prevent requests to internal or sensitive network addresses.
Employ network segmentation and firewall rules to limit the server’s ability to make outbound HTTP requests to internal services that should not be accessible.
Monitor server logs for unusual outbound requests originating from the vulnerable endpoint to detect potential exploitation attempts.
Use Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with rules designed to detect and block SSRF patterns targeting the catchimage functionality.
Regularly audit and rotate administrative credentials to reduce risk from compromised accounts.
Stay alert for official patches or updates from PublicCMS and apply them promptly once available.
Consider disabling or restricting the image capture feature if it is not essential to reduce the attack surface.
Conduct internal penetration testing to identify if the vulnerability can be exploited in your environment and validate mitigations.
Educate administrators about the risks of SSRF and the importance of secure configuration and credential management.

Description

PublicCMS v4.0.202302.e was discovered to contain a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) via the component /admin/ueditor?action=catchimage.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2024-40543 is on confidentiality and integrity of data accessible via the vulnerable PublicCMS server. An attacker exploiting this SSRF vulnerability can make the server perform arbitrary HTTP requests, potentially accessing internal network resources, sensitive backend services, or metadata endpoints that are not exposed externally. This can lead to unauthorized information disclosure, such as internal IP addresses, service configurations, or sensitive data stored behind firewalls. Additionally, the attacker might manipulate server-side operations by sending crafted requests, potentially altering data or triggering unintended actions. Although availability is not directly affected, the breach of confidentiality and integrity can have significant downstream effects, including facilitating further attacks like privilege escalation or lateral movement within an organization’s network. The requirement for low privileges and no user interaction lowers the barrier for exploitation once an attacker gains some authenticated access, increasing the risk in environments where administrative interfaces are exposed or credentials are compromised. Organizations relying on PublicCMS for web content management, especially those with sensitive internal networks, face increased risk of internal reconnaissance and data leakage.

CWE-918Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessCWE Top 25 (2025): #22OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The web server receives a URL or similar request from an upstream component and retrieves the contents of this URL, but it does not sufficiently ensure that the request is being sent to the expected destination.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Server Side Request Forgery Prevention (opens in a new tab)
Unvalidated Redirects and Forwards (opens in a new tab)
Cross Site Scripting Prevention (opens in a new tab)
DOM based XSS Prevention (opens in a new tab)
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V12.6.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.2.6 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Server Side Request Forgery (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

gitee.com/sanluan/PublicCMS/issues/IAAITR (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 28 Feb 2026, 05:25 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-918

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats