PHP up to 3.0.13 Safe Mode popen Metacharacter privileges management

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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CTI Interest Score
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8.8$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as critical has been detected in PHP up to 3.0.13. This vulnerability affects the function popen of the component Safe Mode. The manipulation as part of Metacharacter leads to privileges management. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2000-0059. Moreover, an exploit is present. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in PHP up to 3.0.13 (Programming Language Software). It has been rated as critical. This issue affects the function popen of the component Safe Mode. The manipulation as part of a Metacharacter leads to a privileges management vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-269. The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

PHP3 with safe_mode enabled does not properly filter shell metacharacters from commands that are executed by popen, which could allow remote attackers to execute commands.

The weakness was disclosed 01/04/2000 (Website). It is possible to read the advisory at securityfocus.com. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2000-0059. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is needed for a successful exploitation. Technical details as well as a public exploit are known. The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1068 according to MITRE ATT&CK.

The exploit is available at exploit-db.com. It is declared as proof-of-concept. We expect the 0-day to have been worth approximately $5k-$25k. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 86033 (PHP 3 Safe_Mode Bypass Vulnerability).

Upgrading eliminates this vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at X-Force (3900), Exploit-DB (19708), SecurityFocus (BID 911†) and Vulnerability Center (SBV-6006†). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

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Version

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Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 9.8
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 8.8

VulDB Base Score: 9.8
VulDB Temp Score: 8.8
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
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VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
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Exploitinginfo

Class: Privileges management
CWE: CWE-269 / CWE-266
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔍
Access: Public
Status: Proof-of-Concept
Download: 🔍

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

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Qualys ID: 🔍
Qualys Name: 🔍

Exploit-DB: 🔍

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍

Timelineinfo

01/04/2000 🔍
01/04/2000 +0 days 🔍
01/04/2000 +0 days 🔍
01/04/2000 +0 days 🔍
11/24/2004 +1786 days 🔍
06/23/2014 +3498 days 🔍
10/19/2025 +4136 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Product: php.org

Advisory: securityfocus.com⛔
Status: Confirmed
Confirmation: 🔍

CVE: CVE-2000-0059 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2000-0059
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-15227
X-Force: 3900
SecurityFocus: 911 - PHP3 'safe_mode' Failure Vulnerability
Vulnerability Center: 6006 - PHP3 Allows Code Execution via popen(), Medium

scip Labs: https://www.scip.ch/en/?labs.20161013

Entryinfo

Created: 06/23/2014 15:24
Updated: 10/19/2025 21:11
Changes: 06/23/2014 15:24 (57), 05/26/2019 10:40 (3), 06/23/2021 12:30 (3), 01/09/2025 11:43 (25), 10/19/2025 21:11 (2)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

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