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Threats / PHP / CVE-2019-11043
CVE-2019-11043 · EUVD no mirror located · GCVE no mirror located Verified 2026-06-22

PHP FastCGI Process Manager (FPM) vulnerability

PHP FastCGI Process Manager (FPM) buffer overflow vulnerability allowing remote code execution in certain configurations. Actively exploited and used in ransomware campaigns.

Verdict

Today item, not a backlog item.

A buffer overflow in PHP FPM enables unauthenticated remote code execution on vulnerable servers. The vulnerability has been actively exploited in the wild and leveraged for ransomware deployment, posing critical risk to web infrastructure.

CISA KEV Yes · 2022-03-253Ransomware use Flagged3EPSS 0.9947 (verify live)4Exploit Weaponized · public PoC5
01

Is it exploitable?

— the evidence, ranked above the score
Exploit available
Fully weaponized — public exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
12 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-25), flagged for known ransomware use.
CISA KEV ↗Confirmed
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.9947 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
Affected: PHP, FastCGI Process Manager (FPM). Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.
NVD ↗Reported
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-120 Buffer Copy without Size Check — weakness family: Memory safety.CWE assignment from the public NVD record; the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
NVD ↗Reported
02

Who’s exploiting it?

— attribution turns risk into urgency
Attribution not established

No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.

03

Why it matters

— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board
1

Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1

Attacker
I craft a malicious request targeting the FPM configuration to trigger a buffer overflow condition.
Business
Web application becomes compromised with arbitrary code execution at the application server level.
2

Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2

Attacker
I establish persistence and lateral movement within the compromised server environment.
Business
Attacker gains foothold for data exfiltration, system reconnaissance, and network propagation.
3

Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3

Attacker
I deploy ransomware payload across the infrastructure using the compromised server as an entry point.
Business
Critical business systems are encrypted; operations halt and ransom demands are issued.
04

What to do

— defensible action
  • Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05

Coverage & confidence

— what we know, and what we don’t

Established (cited)

  • KEV listing (CISA)
  • Ransomware-use flag (CISA)
  • EPSS probability (FIRST)
  • Weaponized exploit available (VulnCheck)
  • 12 reported-exploitation source(s)
  • CWE weakness mapping (NVD)
  • Public exploit availability
  • Catalogued by php (CNA)
  • Named finder/reporter credit (CVE.org)
  • Coverage gaps — stated, not hidden

  • No EUVD / GCVE mirror in feed — single-authority dependency for the identifier.
  • EPSS & exposure are time-varying; verify live at the source.
  • Threat-actor attribution not established from feed data — absence of a name is not absence of compromise.
  • Disclosure & credit2
    Catalogued by phpCNA
    Credited with finding itReported by Emil Lerner.unspecified