CVE-2024-22208: phpmyfaq Auth Bypass

Description

phpMyFAQ is an Open Source FAQ web application for PHP 8.1+ and MySQL, PostgreSQL and other databases. The 'sharing FAQ' functionality allows any unauthenticated actor to misuse the phpMyFAQ application to send arbitrary emails to a large range of targets. The phpMyFAQ application has a functionality where anyone can share a FAQ item to others. The front-end of this functionality allows any phpMyFAQ articles to be shared with 5 email addresses. Any unauthenticated actor can perform this action. There is a CAPTCHA in place, however the amount of people you email with a single request is not limited to 5 by the backend. An attacker can thus solve a single CAPTCHA and send thousands of emails at once. An attacker can utilize the target application's email server to send phishing messages. This can get the server on a blacklist, causing all emails to end up in spam. It can also lead to reputation damages. This issue has been patched in version 3.2.5.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

6.5

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-863 Incorrect Authorization

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
phpmyfaq	phpmyfaq	< 3.2.5

References

Advisories & Patches

https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/commit/a34d94ab7b1be9256a9ef898f18ea6bfb63f6f1e https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/security/advisories/GHSA-9hhf-xmcw-r3xg https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/commit/a34d94ab7b1be9256a9ef898f18ea6bfb63f6f1e https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/security/advisories/GHSA-9hhf-xmcw-r3xg

Exploits

https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/security/advisories/GHSA-9hhf-xmcw-r3xg https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/security/advisories/GHSA-9hhf-xmcw-r3xg

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-22208? +

phpMyFAQ is an Open Source FAQ web application for PHP 8.1+ and MySQL, PostgreSQL and other databases. The 'sharing FAQ' functionality allows any unauthenticated actor to misuse the phpMyFAQ application to send arbitrary emails to a large range of targets. The phpMyFAQ application has a functionality where anyone can share a FAQ item to others. The front-end of this functionality allows any phpMyFAQ articles to be shared with 5 email addresses. Any unauthenticated actor can perform this action. There is a CAPTCHA in place, however the amount of people you email with a single request is not limited to 5 by the backend. An attacker can thus solve a single CAPTCHA and send thousands of emails at once. An attacker can utilize the target application's email server to send phishing messages. This can get the server on a blacklist, causing all emails to end up in spam. It can also lead to reputation damages. This issue has been patched in version 3.2.5. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.5 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2024-22208? +

CVE-2024-22208 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 6.5 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance.

What products are affected by CVE-2024-22208? +

CVE-2024-22208 affects products from phpmyfaq, specifically: phpmyfaq. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2024-22208? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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