CVE-2013-7196 in PHPFox
Summary
by MITRE
static/ajax.php in PHPFox 3.7.3, 3.7.4, and 3.7.5 allows remote authenticated users to bypass intended "Only Me" restrictions and comment on a private publication via a request with a modified val[item_id] parameter for the publication.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/11/2026
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-7196 represents a critical access control flaw within the PHPFox social networking platform version 3.7.3 through 3.7.5. This issue resides in the static/ajax.php file which handles asynchronous requests for various platform functionalities including comment operations on user publications. The flaw stems from inadequate input validation and authorization checks that fail to properly verify user permissions when processing comment requests for private content. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability can manipulate the item_id parameter in their requests to gain unauthorized access to private publications that should only be visible to the content owner.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability demonstrates a classic authorization bypass scenario where the application fails to perform proper access validation before allowing comment operations on restricted content. When a user attempts to comment on a private publication, the system should verify that the requesting user has appropriate permissions to access and interact with that specific item. However, the flawed validation logic in static/ajax.php does not adequately check whether the authenticated user has the necessary rights to comment on the target publication, particularly when the item_id parameter is modified to reference a different private item. This weakness allows malicious actors to leverage their authenticated session to access and interact with content they should not be permitted to view or comment on.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant security implications for organizations using PHPFox platforms, as it enables unauthorized users to circumvent privacy controls and potentially access sensitive personal information shared by other users. The impact extends beyond simple comment manipulation to represent a broader breach of content access controls that could expose private communications, personal photos, or other sensitive data. Security researchers have classified this issue as a privilege escalation vulnerability that can be exploited by authenticated attackers who are not administrators but have valid user accounts within the system. The vulnerability operates at the application layer and can be exploited through standard web-based attack vectors without requiring elevated privileges or specialized tools.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-285, which addresses improper authorization issues in software systems, and corresponds to ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for credential access through web applications. Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including patching to the latest available version of PHPFox, implementing additional input validation controls, and strengthening access control mechanisms. Security teams should also review and audit existing access control policies to ensure proper enforcement of content visibility restrictions. Additionally, monitoring for suspicious comment activity patterns and implementing rate limiting for comment operations can help detect and prevent exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of proper authorization checks in web applications and demonstrates how seemingly minor input validation gaps can lead to significant privacy and security breaches in social networking platforms.