CVE-2005-1398 in phpcart
Summary
by MITRE
phpcart.php in PHPCart 3.2 allows remote attackers to change product price information by modifying the (1) price or (2) postage parameters. NOTE: it was later reported that 3.4 through 4.6.4 are also affected.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/29/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-1398 affects PHPCart version 3.2 and subsequent versions through 4.6.4, representing a critical security flaw in e-commerce software that directly impacts financial transaction integrity. This vulnerability resides within the phpcart.php script, which serves as a core component for managing product pricing and shipping calculations within the shopping cart system. The flaw stems from insufficient input validation and parameter sanitization mechanisms that allow unauthorized remote actors to manipulate critical pricing information through simple parameter modification techniques. Attackers can exploit this weakness by directly altering the price or postage parameters in HTTP requests, potentially enabling them to alter product costs without proper authorization.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-20, which describes improper input validation, and represents a classic example of insecure direct object reference vulnerability where user-controllable parameters directly influence system behavior. The attack vector operates entirely through network communication, requiring no local system access or privileged credentials, making it particularly dangerous as it can be exploited by anyone with network access to the affected web application. The vulnerability's impact extends beyond simple price manipulation to potentially enable financial fraud, revenue loss, and compromise of the entire e-commerce transaction system's trust model.
Operationally, this vulnerability creates significant risk for businesses relying on PHPCart for their online sales operations, as it allows attackers to modify pricing information in real-time during active shopping cart sessions. The ability to alter postage parameters compounds the financial impact, potentially allowing attackers to either inflate shipping costs or eliminate them entirely. This vulnerability directly violates fundamental security principles of data integrity and authorization controls, as it enables unauthorized modification of critical business data that should remain protected from external manipulation. The widespread impact across multiple versions indicates a fundamental architectural flaw in the application's parameter handling mechanisms that was not properly addressed through version updates.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including input validation for all user-controllable parameters, implementation of proper access controls for pricing modifications, and deployment of web application firewalls to monitor and filter suspicious parameter modifications. The remediation process requires comprehensive code review of the phpcart.php script to ensure all parameters are properly validated and sanitized before processing. Additionally, implementing proper session management and authentication checks for pricing-related operations would prevent unauthorized modifications. This vulnerability serves as a critical reminder of the importance of secure coding practices and the necessity of regular security assessments for e-commerce applications. The issue also highlights the need for proper parameter validation and the implementation of defense-in-depth strategies that protect against manipulation of critical business data through network-based attacks. Organizations should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify similar flaws in their web applications and implement proper input sanitization techniques to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future.