thorsten phpMyFAQ up to 4.1.5 Image database.php Image::delete existing_image path traversal

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as critical has been reported in thorsten phpMyFAQ up to 4.1.5. This vulnerability affects the function Image::delete of the file database.php of the component Image. This manipulation of the argument existing_image causes path traversal. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2026-66397. Remote exploitation of the attack is possible. No exploit is available.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in thorsten phpMyFAQ up to 4.1.5 and classified as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function Image::delete of the file database.php of the component Image. The manipulation of the argument existing_image with an unknown input leads to a path traversal vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-22. The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

phpMyFAQ before 4.1.6 fails to validate path traversal sequences in the existing_image field during category updates, allowing authenticated attackers to delete arbitrary files by exploiting insufficient sanitization in Image::delete(). Attackers can delete the database.php configuration file to disable the installation gate and access the public setup wizard to create new superadmin accounts.

The advisory is shared at github.com. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-66397 since 07/26/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. MITRE ATT&CK project uses the attack technique T1006 for this issue.

By approaching the search of inurl:database.php it is possible to find vulnerable targets with Google Hacking.

Upgrading to version 4.1.6 eliminates this vulnerability.

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Productinfo

Type

• Content Management System

Vendor

• thorsten

Name

• phpMyFAQ

Version

• 4.1.0
• 4.1.1
• 4.1.2
• 4.1.3
• 4.1.4
• 4.1.5

License

• open-source

Website

• Product: https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/

CPE 2.3info

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