CVE-2006-3760 in MyBB
Summary
by MITRE
Multiple SQL injection vulnerabilities in MyBB (aka MyBulletinBoard) 1.1.4 allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands via unspecified vectors.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/30/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-3760 represents a critical security flaw in MyBB version 1.1.4, a widely used open-source bulletin board system that was prevalent in web communities during the mid-2000s. This vulnerability falls under the category of SQL injection attacks, which occur when an application fails to properly sanitize user input before incorporating it into database queries. The specific nature of this flaw in MyBB allowed malicious actors to inject arbitrary SQL commands directly into the application's database layer, potentially enabling full database access and manipulation. The vulnerability was particularly concerning because MyBB was used by numerous websites and forums, making it an attractive target for attackers seeking to compromise multiple systems simultaneously.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and sanitization mechanisms within the MyBB application code. When users submitted data through various forum functions, the application failed to properly escape or filter special characters that could be interpreted as SQL syntax by the underlying database engine. This weakness created multiple entry points where attackers could inject malicious SQL payloads through unspecified vectors, likely including forum posting forms, user profile modifications, search functions, and administrative interfaces. The vulnerability's classification as a SQL injection flaw aligns with CWE-89, which specifically addresses improper neutralization of special elements used in SQL commands. Attackers could exploit this weakness to perform unauthorized database operations such as data extraction, modification, deletion, or even privilege escalation within the database system.
The operational impact of CVE-2006-3760 was substantial for organizations running affected MyBB installations, as it provided attackers with the capability to completely compromise the underlying database infrastructure. Successful exploitation could result in unauthorized access to user credentials, forum content, private messages, and potentially sensitive information stored within the database. The vulnerability also posed risks to system integrity, as attackers could modify forum configurations, inject malicious content, or even establish persistent backdoors within the application environment. This type of vulnerability directly aligns with ATT&CK technique T1190, which describes exploitation of remote services, and T1071.004, which covers application layer protocol manipulation. Organizations using MyBB 1.1.4 were particularly vulnerable because the software was designed without robust input validation, making it susceptible to various forms of malicious data injection that could be leveraged for broader system compromise.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability required immediate action from system administrators, including upgrading to patched versions of MyBB that addressed the input validation issues. The recommended approach involved applying the official security patches released by the MyBB development team, which typically included enhanced input sanitization routines and improved database query construction methods. Organizations should have implemented proper input validation at multiple layers, including client-side and server-side filtering, to prevent malicious SQL payloads from reaching the database layer. Additionally, database access controls should have been reviewed to ensure that application users had the minimum required privileges, reducing the potential impact of successful exploitation. Network monitoring and intrusion detection systems could have been configured to detect unusual database query patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts, while regular security audits should have been conducted to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities in other applications. The vulnerability highlighted the critical importance of maintaining up-to-date software versions and implementing comprehensive security practices to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future.