CVE-2011-4941: Piwik/piwik Piwik (now Matomo) Vulnerable To Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-2qr8-h6pq-m27v
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CWE-269
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2011-4941 is a MODERATE piwik (now matomo) vulnerable to vulnerability (CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management) affecting Piwik/piwik libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves piwik (now matomo) vulnerable to arbitrary code execution. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.5.

CVE-2011-4941 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2011-4941
GHSA Identifier GHSA-2qr8-h6pq-m27v
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management
Affected Product Piwik/piwik
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2011-4941

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Piwik/piwik dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

piwik/piwik fixed: 1.5 
Upgrade piwik/piwik to 1.5
matomo/matomo fixed: 1.5 
Upgrade matomo/matomo to 1.5
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for piwik/piwik

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2011-4941, inspect your project dependencies for Piwik/piwik:

inspect dependencies for piwik/piwik

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Piwik/piwik in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.5), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management, where the product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor. In Piwik/piwik, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

Unspecified vulnerability in Piwik 1.2 through 1.4 allows remote attackers with the view permission to execute arbitrary code via unknown attack vectors.

CVE-2011-4941 Affected Piwik/piwik Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.5
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
piwik/piwik
 Packagist
≥ 1.2
< 1.5
1.5
matomo/matomo
 Packagist
≥ 1.2
< 1.5
1.5

References

NVD — CVE-2011-4941 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2011-4941
Piwik/piwik Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/matomo-org/matomo
Piwik/piwik Security Information SECURITY
https://web.archive.org/web/20110626223028/http://piwik.org/blog/2011/06/piwik-1-5-security-advisory
Piwik/piwik Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/03/18/1
Piwik/piwik Security Information SECURITY
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/03/19/8

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2011-4941?
CVE-2011-4941 is a security vulnerability in Piwik/piwik involving Piwik (now Matomo) Vulnerable to Arbitrary Code Execution under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management.
Which Piwik/piwik versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.5 across affected packages: piwik/piwik, matomo/matomo.
What version fixes CVE-2011-4941?
Upgrading to 1.5 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is piwik/piwik affected?
Yes, piwik/piwik is affected in releases prior to 1.5. Upgrade your dependency to 1.5 or later.
Is matomo/matomo affected?
Yes, matomo/matomo is affected in releases prior to 1.5. Upgrade your dependency to 1.5 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2011-4941?
CVE-2011-4941 is classified under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management (The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.).
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2011-4941?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for piwik/piwik'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-2qr8-h6pq-m27v",
  "modified" : "2025-04-12T00:12:36Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-13T01:30:29Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2011-4941" ],
  "summary" : "Piwik (now Matomo) Vulnerable to Arbitrary Code Execution",
  "details" : "Unspecified vulnerability in Piwik 1.2 through 1.4 allows remote attackers with the view permission to execute arbitrary code via unknown attack vectors.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "piwik/piwik"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.2"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.5"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "matomo/matomo"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "1.2"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.5"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2011-4941"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/matomo-org/matomo"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20110626223028/http://piwik.org/blog/2011/06/piwik-1-5-security-advisory"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/03/18/1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2012/03/19/8"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-269" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-04-12T00:12:36Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2012-09-18T18:55:00Z"
  }
}