CVE-2007-6399 in Flat PHP Board
Summary
by MITRE
index.php in Flat PHP Board 1.2 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to obtain the password for the current user account by reading the password parameter value in the HTML source for the page generated by a profile action.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/12/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2007-6399 resides within Flat PHP Board version 1.2 and earlier, representing a critical security flaw that undermines user authentication mechanisms through improper information disclosure. This issue affects remote authenticated users who can exploit the weakness to extract sensitive password information directly from the web application's HTML source code. The vulnerability manifests specifically within the index.php file when processing profile actions, creating an avenue for attackers to bypass normal authentication procedures and gain unauthorized access to user accounts.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output encoding practices within the Flat PHP Board application. When authenticated users access their profile pages, the system fails to properly sanitize or obfuscate password-related parameters in the generated HTML output. This design flaw allows the password hash or plaintext password to be directly embedded within the page source code, making it accessible to any user with valid session credentials who can navigate to the profile page. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and specifically targets the web interface's handling of user account data presentation, violating fundamental security principles of least privilege and information hiding.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it fundamentally compromises the integrity of user authentication within the affected system. Attackers can leverage this weakness to obtain valid credentials for any authenticated user account, potentially leading to complete system compromise if users share credentials or if administrative accounts are targeted. The vulnerability affects the confidentiality and integrity aspects of the CIA triad, as it enables unauthorized access to sensitive user data and provides attackers with the means to impersonate legitimate users. This weakness also violates security standards such as those outlined in CWE-200, which addresses information exposure, and CWE-312, which covers cleartext storage of sensitive information.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2007-6399 should focus on implementing proper input sanitization and output encoding mechanisms within the web application. The most effective approach involves modifying the index.php file to ensure that password parameters are not included in HTML output, particularly during profile viewing operations. Security measures should include implementing proper access controls to prevent unauthorized data exposure, regular security code reviews to identify similar vulnerabilities, and updating to patched versions of Flat PHP Board. Organizations should also consider implementing additional monitoring and logging of profile access attempts, as well as establishing secure coding practices that prevent similar issues in future development cycles. The vulnerability's classification under ATT&CK technique T1566, which covers credential access through social engineering, demonstrates how this flaw can be exploited in combination with other attack vectors to achieve comprehensive system compromise.