CVE-2009-0964 in PHPRunner
Summary
by MITRE
UserView_list.php in PHPRunner 4.2, and possibly earlier, stores passwords in cleartext in the database, which allows attackers to gain privileges. NOTE: this can be leveraged with a separate SQL injection vulnerability to obtain passwords remotely without authentication.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/24/2024
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2009-0964 affects PHPRunner 4.2 and potentially earlier versions, presenting a critical security flaw in how user authentication credentials are handled within the application. This weakness resides in the UserView_list.php component which processes user account information, creating a dangerous exposure where passwords are stored in plain text format within the database infrastructure. The fundamental technical flaw represents a violation of basic security principles for credential storage, as sensitive authentication data should never be maintained in an easily readable format that can be directly accessed by unauthorized parties.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple credential exposure, as it creates a pathway for attackers to escalate privileges and gain unauthorized access to user accounts. When combined with a separate SQL injection vulnerability that exists within the same system, the threat landscape becomes significantly more dangerous. Attackers can exploit the SQL injection flaw to remotely extract password information from the database without requiring prior authentication, effectively bypassing normal access controls. This dual vulnerability exploitation demonstrates how seemingly isolated security flaws can compound to create more severe threats, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1213.001 for Credential Access through database dumps and T1212 for Exploitation for Credential Access.
The storage of passwords in cleartext directly violates industry standards and best practices established by organizations such as NIST and OWASP, which mandate that passwords must be hashed using strong cryptographic algorithms with salt values before storage. This vulnerability represents a CWE-256 issue, specifically a weakness in which passwords are stored without proper cryptographic protection, and also relates to CWE-312 which addresses the exposure of sensitive data through cleartext storage. The presence of this flaw in PHPRunner 4.2 indicates a lack of proper security implementation during the development lifecycle, particularly in the authentication and authorization components of the application.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including the immediate replacement of any cleartext password storage with properly hashed and salted password implementations. Database access controls should be strengthened to limit direct database access to authorized personnel only, and all applications should undergo comprehensive security audits to identify similar credential storage issues. The combination of this vulnerability with SQL injection capabilities creates a particularly dangerous scenario that requires immediate attention, as it allows for complete account compromise without the need for legitimate authentication credentials. Security teams should also implement monitoring for unusual database access patterns that might indicate credential harvesting attempts, while ensuring that all future development follows secure coding practices that prevent such fundamental security flaws from being introduced.