CVE-2005-3645 in phpAdsNew
Summary
by MITRE
phpAdsNew and phpPgAds 2.0.6 and possibly earlier versions allows remote attackers to obtain the application installation path and other sensitive information via direct requests to (1) create.php, and if display_errors is enabled, (2) lib-updates.inc.php, (3) lib-targetstats.inc.php, (4) lib-size.inc.php, (5) lib-misc-stats.inc.php, (6) lib-hourly-hosts.inc.php, (7) lib-hourly.inc.php, (8) lib-history.inc.php, and (9) graph-daily.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/13/2018
This vulnerability affects phpAdsNew and phpPgAds versions 2.0.6 and earlier, representing a critical information disclosure flaw that exposes sensitive system details to remote attackers. The vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and error handling mechanisms within the application's core components, particularly when specific PHP files are accessed directly without proper authentication or authorization checks. Attackers can exploit this weakness by making direct HTTP requests to several key application files, including create.php and multiple library files that handle various advertising statistics and management functions.
The technical exploitation occurs when the display_errors PHP configuration directive is enabled, which causes the application to output detailed error messages containing system path information and other sensitive data. This configuration setting, while useful for development environments, creates a significant security risk in production systems by revealing internal application structure and installation paths. The affected files include lib-updates.inc.php, lib-targetstats.inc.php, lib-size.inc.php, lib-misc-stats.inc.php, lib-hourly-hosts.inc.php, lib-hourly.inc.php, lib-history.inc.php, and graph-daily.php, all of which contain logic that generates error messages when accessed improperly or when database connections fail.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as the leaked installation paths and system details can serve as foundational intelligence for more sophisticated attacks. Attackers can use the exposed paths to craft targeted attacks against specific file locations, potentially leading to further exploitation through path traversal vulnerabilities or by identifying version-specific weaknesses in the application's codebase. This information disclosure creates opportunities for attackers to map the application's internal structure and identify potential attack vectors that might not be apparent through normal reconnaissance activities.
Security professionals should immediately disable the display_errors directive in production environments and implement proper access controls for all application files. The recommended mitigations include configuring PHP to log errors instead of displaying them to users, implementing authentication checks for all administrative files, and conducting regular security audits to identify similar vulnerabilities across the application stack. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-200, which addresses information exposure, and represents a common pattern in web applications where development-time debugging features are not properly disabled in production environments. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls and intrusion detection systems to monitor for suspicious direct file access patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts.
The attack surface for this vulnerability spans multiple components within the phpAdsNew and phpPgAds frameworks, making it particularly dangerous as it affects core functionality files that handle advertising statistics and database operations. The fact that multiple files within the application are affected suggests a systemic design flaw in how the application handles error conditions and file access permissions. This type of vulnerability commonly appears in legacy web applications where security considerations were not adequately integrated during the development lifecycle, and it represents a classic example of how configuration settings can create security risks in production environments. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK technique T1212, which covers exploitation for credential access, demonstrates how information disclosure can serve as a precursor to more serious attacks involving privilege escalation or authentication bypass.