CVE-2007-2149 in Chatness
Summary
by MITRE
Stephen Craton (aka WiredPHP) Chatness 2.5.3 and earlier stores usernames and unencrypted passwords in (1) classes/vars.php and (2) classes/varstuff.php, and recommends 0666 or 0777 permissions for these files, which allows local users to gain privileges by reading the files, and allows remote attackers to obtain credentials via a direct request for admin/options.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/06/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-2149 affects Chatness 2.5.3 and earlier versions, representing a critical security flaw in how the application handles authentication credentials. This issue stems from poor security practices in credential storage and file permission management within the application's core components. The vulnerability resides in the way the system persists user authentication data, creating an exploitable condition that compromises the entire authentication mechanism.
The technical flaw manifests through the insecure storage of usernames and unencrypted passwords within specific PHP files located at classes/vars.php and classes/varstuff.php. These files contain sensitive authentication information in plaintext format, making them immediately accessible to any entity with read access. The application's configuration recommends overly permissive file permissions of 0666 or 0777, which grant read and write access to all users on the system. This permission scheme creates a fundamental security weakness that allows local privilege escalation and remote credential theft. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-312 (CWE-312: Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information) and CWE-732 (CWE-732: Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource), as it demonstrates both the improper handling of sensitive data and the assignment of insecure file permissions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe and multifaceted, affecting both local and remote attack vectors. Local users can exploit the vulnerability by simply reading the compromised files, enabling them to obtain administrative credentials and gain full access to the application's administrative functions. Remote attackers can leverage the vulnerability through direct requests to admin/options.php, bypassing normal authentication mechanisms entirely. This dual attack surface significantly expands the potential threat landscape, as the vulnerability can be exploited from any location with network access to the vulnerable application. The consequence is complete administrative control over the chat application, potentially leading to data breaches, service disruption, and unauthorized access to user communications. The vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1566 (Phishing for Information) and T1078 (Valid Accounts) as attackers can harvest credentials to establish persistent access.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address both the immediate credential exposure and the underlying permission issues. The most critical immediate action involves changing the file permissions to restrictive settings such as 0600, ensuring that only the web server process can read the sensitive files. The application code must be modified to eliminate the plaintext storage of passwords, implementing proper password hashing mechanisms using standards such as bcrypt or PBKDF2. Additionally, the application should be updated to remove the hardcoded credential storage from the specified PHP files and implement proper session management. Network-level protections should include firewall rules to restrict access to sensitive endpoints and monitoring for unauthorized access attempts to admin directories. The remediation process should also include comprehensive code review to identify and eliminate similar credential storage patterns throughout the application. Organizations should implement principle of least privilege for file permissions and establish regular security audits to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being introduced in future versions. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of following secure coding practices and adhering to security standards that prevent cleartext credential storage and improper resource permissions.