CVE-2006-5203 in IP.Board
Summary
by MITRE
Invision Power Board (IPB) 2.1.7 and earlier allows remote restricted administrators to inject arbitrary web script or HTML, or execute arbitrary SQL commands, via a forum description that contains a crafted image with PHP code, which is executed when the user visits the "Manage Forums" link in the Admin control panel.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/23/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2006-5203 affects Invision Power Board version 2.1.7 and earlier, representing a critical security flaw that enables restricted administrators to perform unauthorized actions within the application. This vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and improper sanitization of user-supplied data, particularly when processing forum descriptions that contain crafted images with embedded PHP code. The flaw exists within the administrative control panel's handling of forum metadata, specifically when users navigate to the "Manage Forums" section where the malicious content is executed.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability leverages a combination of cross-site scripting and SQL injection attack vectors through a single malicious payload. When a restricted administrator creates or modifies a forum description containing an image file with embedded PHP code, the system fails to properly validate or sanitize the image content before rendering it within the administrative interface. The vulnerability specifically targets the "Manage Forums" link in the admin control panel where the malicious code executes in the context of the administrator's session, potentially allowing full administrative privileges to be compromised.
This vulnerability operates under the principles of CWE-79 Cross-site Scripting and CWE-89 SQL Injection, representing a hybrid attack vector that combines both client-side and server-side exploitation techniques. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a privilege escalation and code execution technique, specifically under T1068 Valid Accounts and T1059 Command and Scripting Interpreter. The impact extends beyond simple script injection as the malicious code execution can potentially lead to complete system compromise when the restricted administrator's privileges are leveraged against the application's database layer.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe for organizations relying on Invision Power Board for community management and forum hosting. Restricted administrators who gain access to the system through legitimate means can exploit this flaw to escalate their privileges and execute arbitrary commands on the server. The vulnerability allows attackers to bypass normal access controls and potentially gain access to sensitive user data, forum configurations, and underlying database structures. The execution of SQL commands through this vector means that attackers can directly manipulate or extract data from the application's database without proper authentication.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2006-5203 require immediate patching of the Invision Power Board application to version 2.1.8 or later, which contains the necessary input validation and sanitization fixes. Organizations should implement strict file upload restrictions for image content, particularly in administrative interfaces, and enforce proper content type validation. The security architecture should include input sanitization at multiple layers, including the application code level and web application firewalls. Additionally, privilege separation should be enforced where restricted administrators cannot access administrative functions that process untrusted content, and regular security audits should validate that no unauthorized code execution paths exist within the application's administrative interfaces. Network segmentation and monitoring should be implemented to detect anomalous behavior patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts.