CVE-2019-11231

CRITICAL

GetSimple CMS < 3.3.15 - Remote Code Execution via Theme Edit File Upload

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 3 public exploits for CVE-2019-11231. PoCs published by Metasploit, akincibor, truerand0m, including Metasploit module exploits/multi/http/getsimplecms_unauth_code_exec.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This Metasploit module exploits an unauthenticated RCE vulnerability in GetSimpleCMS by bypassing authentication via API key leakage, generating a valid session cookie, and uploading a malicious PHP file.

Description

An issue was discovered in GetSimple CMS through 3.3.15. insufficient input sanitation in the theme-edit.php file allows upload of files with arbitrary content (PHP code, for example). This vulnerability is triggered by an authenticated user; however, authentication can be bypassed. According to the official documentation for installation step 10, an admin is required to upload all the files, including the .htaccess files, and run a health check. However, what is overlooked is that the Apache HTTP Server by default no longer enables the AllowOverride directive, leading to data/users/admin.xml password exposure. The passwords are hashed but this can be bypassed by starting with the data/other/authorization.xml API key. This allows one to target the session state, since they decided to roll their own implementation. The cookie_name is crafted information that can be leaked from the frontend (site name and version). If a someone leaks the API key and the admin username, then they can bypass authentication. To do so, they need to supply a cookie based on an SHA-1 computation of this known information. The vulnerability exists in the admin/theme-edit.php file. This file checks for forms submissions via POST requests, and for the csrf nonce. If the nonce sent is correct, then the file provided by the user is uploaded. There is a path traversal allowing write access outside the jailed themes directory root. Exploiting the traversal is not necessary because the .htaccess file is ignored. A contributing factor is that there isn't another check on the extension before saving the file, with the assumption that the parameter content is safe. This allows the creation of web accessible and executable files with arbitrary content.

Exploits (3)

exploitdb WORKING POC VERIFIED
by Metasploit · rubyremotephp
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46880

This Metasploit module exploits an unauthenticated RCE vulnerability in GetSimpleCMS by bypassing authentication via API key leakage, generating a valid session cookie, and uploading a malicious PHP file.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: GetSimpleCMS 3.3.15 and before
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Target must be running a vulnerable version of GetSimpleCMS · Access to the target's web interface
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by akincibor · poc
https://github.com/akincibor/CVE-2019-11231-PoC

This repository contains a functional Python exploit for CVE-2019-11231, targeting GetSimpleCMS ≤ 3.3.15. The exploit chains multiple steps to achieve unauthenticated RCE by leaking credentials, forging cookies, and uploading a PHP shell.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: GetSimpleCMS ≤ 3.3.15
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Network access to target · Exposed /data/ and /admin/ directories
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 19, 2026 Full analysis →
metasploit WORKING POC EXCELLENT
by truerand0m · rubypocphp
https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/multi/http/getsimplecms_unauth_code_exec.rb

This Metasploit module exploits an unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability in GetSimpleCMS by bypassing authentication via API key leakage and uploading a malicious PHP file. It chains multiple steps including version detection, salt retrieval, cookie generation, and nonce extraction to achieve RCE.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: GetSimpleCMS 3.3.15 and before
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Target must be running a vulnerable version of GetSimpleCMS · Access to the target's web interface
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →

References (2)

Core 2
Core References
Exploit, Third Party Advisory x_refsource_misc
https://ssd-disclosure.com/?p=3899&preview=true
Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry x_refsource_misc
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/152961/GetSimpleCMS-3.3.15-Remote-Code-Execution.html

Scores

CVSS v3 9.8
EPSS 0.4994
EPSS Percentile 97.9%
Attack Vector NETWORK
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Details

CWE
CWE-22
Status published
Products (1)
get-simple/getsimple_cms < 3.3.15
Published May 22, 2019
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026