CVE-2017-15730 in phpMyFAQ
Summary
by MITRE
In phpMyFAQ before 2.9.9, there is Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) in admin/stat.ratings.php.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/18/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-15730 represents a critical cross-site request forgery flaw discovered in phpMyFAQ versions prior to 2.9.9. This vulnerability specifically affects the administrative statistics module located at admin/stat.ratings.php, where the application fails to implement proper CSRF protection mechanisms. The flaw resides in the web application's inability to validate the origin of requests originating from authenticated administrative sessions, creating a pathway for malicious actors to execute unauthorized actions on behalf of legitimate users with administrative privileges.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the absence of anti-CSRF tokens within the affected administrative interface. When administrators access the ratings statistics page, the application does not verify that requests are originating from legitimate administrative sessions or validate the authenticity of the request source. This allows attackers to craft malicious requests that, when executed by an authenticated administrator, could perform unauthorized operations such as modifying rating configurations, deleting statistical data, or potentially executing other administrative functions within the phpMyFAQ system.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to organizations relying on phpMyFAQ for database management and content administration. An attacker who successfully exploits this CSRF vulnerability could compromise the integrity of the database statistics, manipulate user ratings, or potentially gain further access to other administrative functions within the phpMyFAQ system. The attack requires minimal sophistication as it only requires the victim administrator to be logged into the administrative interface and to view a malicious page or click on a crafted link, making it particularly dangerous in environments where administrators frequently browse untrusted web content.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-352, which specifically addresses Cross-Site Request Forgery weaknesses in web applications. This classification emphasizes the fundamental flaw in the application's security architecture where it fails to validate request authenticity and origin. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to technique T1078 which involves valid accounts and T1566 which covers phishing with a focus on credential theft and unauthorized access through web-based attacks. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to phpMyFAQ version 2.9.9 or later, implementing proper CSRF token validation mechanisms, and conducting security reviews of all administrative interfaces to ensure similar vulnerabilities do not exist in other parts of the application. Additionally, network security controls such as web application firewalls should be configured to monitor for suspicious administrative requests and to enforce proper session management practices across all administrative endpoints.