CVE-2002-0287 in Pforum
Summary
by MITRE
pforum 1.14 and earlier does not explicitly enable PHP magic quotes, which allows remote attackers to bypass authentication and gain administrator privileges via an SQL injection attack when the PHP server is not configured to use magic quotes by default.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/28/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2002-0287 affects pforum version 1.14 and earlier, representing a critical security flaw that stems from improper input validation and sanitization practices within the application's authentication mechanism. This issue specifically targets the absence of explicit PHP magic quotes configuration, creating a pathway for malicious actors to exploit SQL injection vulnerabilities that would otherwise be mitigated by the default PHP security measures. The flaw exists in the application's handling of user input during authentication processes, where unfiltered data is directly incorporated into database queries without adequate sanitization.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability relies on the PHP environment's default configuration settings, where magic quotes are not enabled by default on many servers. When PHP magic quotes are disabled, user-supplied input containing special SQL characters such as single quotes, semicolons, or comment markers can be interpreted by the database engine as part of the SQL command rather than as literal data. This allows attackers to manipulate the intended query structure and inject malicious SQL code that can bypass authentication checks and potentially escalate privileges to administrator level access. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-89 as SQL injection, which represents a well-documented and persistent threat in web application security that has been extensively catalogued in the CWE database.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, as it provides attackers with the capability to assume full administrative control over the affected forum system. This includes the ability to modify user accounts, delete content, alter forum configurations, and potentially access sensitive data stored within the database. The attack vector is particularly concerning because it requires minimal sophistication from the attacker, relying primarily on the misconfiguration of the underlying PHP environment rather than complex exploitation techniques. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in environments where administrators may not be fully aware of their PHP configuration settings or may have chosen to disable magic quotes for specific application requirements.
From a threat modeling perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1190 which covers exploiting vulnerabilities in web applications to gain unauthorized access. The attack chain typically involves initial reconnaissance to identify the vulnerable application version, followed by crafting malicious SQL injection payloads that exploit the missing input sanitization. Organizations affected by this vulnerability face significant risk of data compromise, service disruption, and potential regulatory compliance violations. The remediation process requires either enabling PHP magic quotes through proper server configuration or implementing explicit input validation and sanitization within the application code. Additionally, this vulnerability underscores the importance of following security best practices such as input validation, output encoding, and proper error handling as recommended in various security frameworks including OWASP Top Ten and NIST cybersecurity guidelines. The incident also highlights the critical need for regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning to identify misconfigurations that could lead to similar authentication bypass scenarios in other web applications.