ProjectSend Improper Authentication (CVE-2024-11680)

Historical catalog analysis: CISA added this entry on December 03, 2024. The entry reflects catalog information retrieved on August 31, 2026, not a snapshot archived on the inclusion date. Check current vendor guidance before acting.

What the vulnerability is

CVE-2024-11680 is an improper authentication vulnerability (CWE-287) affecting ProjectSend. The flaw allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to send crafted HTTP requests to the options.php file. If successful, this enables unauthorized modification of the application’s configuration settings. These modifications can be leveraged to create new accounts, upload webshells for remote code execution, or embed malicious JavaScript within the application.

Exposure and applicability

This vulnerability applies to environments deploying ProjectSend where the options.php endpoint is reachable via HTTP requests from untrusted networks. Because the flaw allows unauthenticated access, any asset running a vulnerable version of the software exposed to the internet or an untrusted internal segment is at risk of full system compromise through webshell deployment.

Remediation priorities

Based on the potential for remote code execution and unauthorized account creation, we analyze the following prioritization for vulnerability management teams:

1. Immediate Mitigation Application: Prioritize applying vendor-supplied mitigations or updates to address the authentication failure in options.php. If mitigations are unavailable or cannot be applied, the product should be discontinued.
2. Asset Identification: Identify all instances of ProjectSend across the infrastructure, specifically auditing those with public-facing interfaces.
3. Configuration Audit: Review application configurations for unauthorized changes that may have occurred prior to patching.

How to validate remediation

Verification must go beyond confirming a version number or the presence of a patch. To ensure exposure is actually reduced, defenders should employ the following validation methods:

• Access Control Verification: Confirm that requests to options.php are now rejected or require valid authentication, preventing unauthenticated configuration changes.
• Integrity Checking: Inspect the filesystem for unauthorized webshells and review the user database for accounts created without authorization. A patch prevents future exploitation but does not remove existing persistence established via a previous compromise.
• Configuration Baseline: Compare current application settings against a known-good baseline to ensure no malicious configurations remain active.

Limits and open questions

While the vulnerability is documented, it remains unknown whether this flaw has been utilized in known ransomware campaigns. Furthermore, applying a patch does not guarantee that the system was not previously compromised; residual risk exists if an attacker already uploaded a webshell or created a backdoor account before the mitigation was deployed. The effectiveness of the remediation depends on the thoroughness of the post-patch integrity audit.

Source and editorial note

CVE-2024-11680: ProjectSend Improper Authentication Vulnerability · Source date: December 03, 2024 · Retrieved August 31, 2026.

Material facts are tied to the cited primary source. Recommendations are independent defensive analysis unless attributed to the source. Confirm consequential decisions against current authoritative guidance.

Archive date: December 06, 2024. The displayed post date is assigned three days after the source date to organize this retrospective archive; it does not mean this site published the analysis then. First published by this site: November 02, 2026 at 00:12 UTC.

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