---
title: "WEB-CMS-014 Joomla Core Past End of Life"
canonical: https://openvapt.com/checks/WEB-CMS-014.html
html: https://openvapt.com/checks/WEB-CMS-014.html
site: OpenVAPT, https://openvapt.com/
license: OpenVAPT Source-Available Licence 1.3, https://openvapt.com/legal/licence-text.html
modified: 2026-10-14
version: 0.1.0-alpha.6
---

# WEB-CMS-014 Joomla Core Past End of Life

Reads the installed Joomla version from administrator/manifests/files/joomla.xml on disk and compares it with the Joomla support dates.

- Domain: Web Apps
- Severity: High
- Control category: Patch and Vulnerability Management
- Fix effort: high
- CVSS v3.1 vector: `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`
- CIS Controls v8: 2.2
- NIST CSF 2.0: ID.RA-01, PR.PS-02
- CWE: CWE-1104
- OWASP Top 10 2021: A06:2021
- OWASP ASVS 4.0.3: 14.2.1
- NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5: SI-2, SA-22

## Why It Matters

Joomla 3 left security support in August 2023 and Joomla 4 in October 2025. Sites on those series receive no fixes for new core vulnerabilities, while the exact version remains easy to fingerprint.

## How It Detects

Reads <version> from administrator/manifests/files/joomla.xml under each local web root and fails when the series' end-of-support date has passed (1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 2.5, 3.x, 4.x). Joomla 5 and later pass.

## How to Fix

Update to the current Joomla series through the Joomla Update component (back up first, check extension compatibility, then update), and keep the one-click updater enabled.

## How to Verify

```
grep '<version>' administrator/manifests/files/joomla.xml
```

## Learn the Theory

- [P6 Information Exposure and Misconfiguration](https://openvapt.com/academy/p6.md)
- [P14 CMS Hardening in Depth: WordPress, Joomla and Drupal](https://openvapt.com/academy/p14.md)
- [A6 Application Framework and CMS Configuration](https://openvapt.com/academy/a6.md)

## References

- [Joomla Documentation, Joomla Release and Support Cycle](https://docs.joomla.org/Joomla!_CMS_versions)
- [Joomla Documentation, Security Checklist](https://docs.joomla.org/Security_Checklist)

## Source Code

https://github.com/OpenVAPT/openvapt/blob/574f7f3333c44b75a3c649e2d93a76d507f75adf/internal/checks/web/cms_depth.go

Run it: `openvapt scan --only WEB-CMS-014`. Read it offline: `openvapt explain WEB-CMS-014`.

---

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