CVE-2005-0116

EXPLOITED

awstats < 6.3 - Remote Code Execution via configdir Parameter

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

CVE-2005-0116 has been observed exploited in the wild (reported by VulnCheck KEV). EIP tracks 5 public exploits from researchers including Metasploit, THUNDER, GHC, including a Metasploit module exploits/unix/webapp/awstats_configdir_exec.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This Metasploit module exploits a command injection vulnerability in AWStats via the 'configdir' parameter, allowing arbitrary command execution. It sends a crafted GET request with a payload encoded in the URI to trigger RCE.

Description

AWStats 6.1, and other versions before 6.3, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via shell metacharacters in the configdir parameter to aswtats.pl.

Exploits (5)

exploitdb WORKING POC VERIFIED
by Metasploit · rubywebappscgi
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/16905

This Metasploit module exploits a command injection vulnerability in AWStats via the 'configdir' parameter, allowing arbitrary command execution. It sends a crafted GET request with a payload encoded in the URI to trigger RCE.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: AWStats 6.1 and 6.2
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the AWStats CGI script · AWStats version 6.1 or 6.2
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
exploitdb WORKING POC VERIFIED
by THUNDER · cwebappscgi
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/772

This exploit targets a command injection vulnerability in AwStats 6.2 and below via the `configdir` parameter. It sends a crafted HTTP request with a command enclosed in `|` characters to achieve remote command execution.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: AwStats <= 6.2
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the target AwStats CGI script · AwStats version <= 6.2
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
exploitdb WORKING POC VERIFIED
by GHC · perlwebappscgi
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/773

This Perl script exploits a command injection vulnerability in Advanced Web Statistics (AWStats) versions 6.0 to 6.2 via the 'configdir' parameter. It sends a crafted HTTP GET request to execute arbitrary commands on the target server.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Advanced Web Statistics 6.0 - 6.2
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Target server running vulnerable AWStats version · Network access to the target server
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
exploitdb WORKING POC VERIFIED
by Matteo Cantoni · rubywebappscgi
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/9912

This Metasploit module exploits a command injection vulnerability in AWStats via the 'configdir' parameter, allowing arbitrary command execution. It encodes the payload and sends it via a crafted HTTP GET request.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: AWStats 6.1 and 6.2
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Target running vulnerable AWStats version · Access to the AWStats CGI script
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
metasploit WORKING POC EXCELLENT
rubypocunix
https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/unix/webapp/awstats_configdir_exec.rb

This Metasploit module exploits a command injection vulnerability in AWStats via the 'configdir' parameter, allowing arbitrary command execution. It encodes the payload and uses HTTP GET requests to trigger the vulnerability.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Trivial
Reliability
Reliable
Target: AWStats 6.1 and 6.2
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to the AWStats CGI script · AWStats version 6.1 or 6.2
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →

References (7)

Core 7
Core References
Exploit, Patch, Vendor Advisory third-party-advisory x_refsource_idefense
http://www.idefense.com/application/poi/display?id=185&type=vulnerabilities&flashstatus=false
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry vdb-entry x_refsource_bid
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/12298
Exploit, Third Party Advisory x_refsource_misc
http://packetstormsecurity.org/0501-exploits/AWStatsVulnAnalysis.pdf
Patch, Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource third-party-advisory x_refsource_cert-vn
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/272296
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry vdb-entry x_refsource_osvdb
http://www.osvdb.org/13002
Patch, Vendor Advisory third-party-advisory x_refsource_secunia
http://secunia.com/advisories/13893/
Patch, Vendor Advisory x_refsource_confirm
http://awstats.sourceforge.net/docs/awstats_changelog.txt

Scores

EPSS 0.9198
EPSS Percentile 99.7%

Details

VulnCheck KEV 2020-12-01
CWE
CWE-20
Status published
Products (1)
awstats/awstats < 6.3
Published Jan 18, 2005
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026