CVE-2005-3846 in Fantastic News
Summary
by MITRE
SQL injection vulnerability in news.php in Fantastic News 2.1.1 and earlier allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via the category parameter.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/04/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2005-3846 represents a critical sql injection flaw within the Fantastic News 2.1.1 content management system and earlier versions. This vulnerability exists in the news.php script where user input is not properly sanitized before being incorporated into sql database queries. The specific parameter targeted is the category parameter which is directly manipulated by remote attackers to inject malicious sql code into the application's database layer.
This sql injection vulnerability falls under the common weakness enumeration CWE-89 which categorizes improper neutralization of special elements used in sql commands. The flaw allows attackers to bypass authentication mechanisms, extract sensitive data from the database, modify or delete records, and potentially gain complete control over the affected system. The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it affects the core news management functionality and can be exploited without requiring any prior authentication or privileged access to the system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data theft to encompass complete system compromise and potential lateral movement within network environments. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges, access administrative functions, and manipulate the news content management system to serve as a persistent backdoor. The vulnerability affects all versions up to and including Fantastic News 2.1.1, making it a widespread issue across multiple deployments. Organizations running these vulnerable versions face significant risk of data breaches, service disruption, and potential regulatory compliance violations.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2005-3846 should focus on immediate patching of the affected software to the latest available version that addresses the sql injection vulnerability. Additionally, implementing proper input validation and parameterized queries in the application code can prevent similar issues from occurring in the future. Network segmentation and intrusion detection systems should be deployed to monitor for exploitation attempts. The vulnerability also aligns with several attack techniques documented in the mitre att&ck framework including t1071.004 for application layer protocol and t1190 for exploit public-facing application. Organizations should conduct comprehensive security assessments to identify any other potentially vulnerable applications and implement robust database security practices including least privilege access controls and regular security audits to prevent future sql injection attacks.