---
title: "WEB-CMS-016 Ghost Configured With a Plain HTTP Site URL"
canonical: https://openvapt.com/checks/WEB-CMS-016.html
html: https://openvapt.com/checks/WEB-CMS-016.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-016 Ghost Configured With a Plain HTTP Site URL

Checks Ghost config.production.json for a url that starts with http://.

- Domain: Web Apps
- Severity: Medium
- Control category: Web Application Security
- Fix effort: low
- CVSS v3.1 vector: `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N`
- CIS Controls v8: 16.7
- NIST CSF 2.0: PR.PS-01
- CWE: CWE-319
- OWASP Top 10 2021: A02:2021, A05:2021
- OWASP ASVS 4.0.3: 9.1.1
- OWASP WSTG v4.2: WSTG-CRYP-03
- NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5: SC-8, CM-6

## Why It Matters

Ghost builds every link, including the admin login and member sign-in links, from the configured url. With http:// the admin session and members' tokens travel in the clear even when HTTPS is available, and browsers see mixed content.

## How It Detects

Finds config.production.json files in the project folders that look like Ghost configuration (database and server keys) and fails when url begins with http://.

## How to Fix

ghost config url https://<your-domain>  (or edit config.production.json), set up TLS with ghost setup ssl or your reverse proxy, then ghost restart.

## How to Verify

```
ghost config get url  prints an https:// address.
```

## 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

- [Ghost documentation, Configuration (url)](https://ghost.org/docs/config/)
- [OWASP Transport Layer Security Cheat Sheet](https://cheatsheetseries.owasp.org/cheatsheets/Transport_Layer_Security_Cheat_Sheet.html)

## Source Code

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

Run it: `openvapt scan --only WEB-CMS-016`. Read it offline: `openvapt explain WEB-CMS-016`.

---

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