CVE-2023-0793
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes weak password requirements in phpMyFAQ versions prior to 3.1.11, allowing attackers to more easily guess or brute-force user passwords. It affects all users of phpMyFAQ with default or insufficient password policies, potentially leading to unauthorized access to admin or user accounts.
💻 Affected Systems
- phpMyFAQ
📦 What is this software?
Phpmyfaq by Phpmyfaq
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers gain administrative access, leading to data theft, site defacement, or installation of malware.
Likely Case
Unauthorized access to user accounts, enabling privilege escalation or data manipulation.
If Mitigated
Limited impact if strong passwords and rate-limiting are enforced, reducing brute-force success.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation involves brute-forcing or guessing weak passwords, which is straightforward if password policies are lax.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 3.1.11
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/thorsten/phpmyfaq/commit/00c04093c671607ee06cdfd670070809460f9547
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Backup your phpMyFAQ installation. 2. Download and install version 3.1.11 or later from the official repository. 3. Replace existing files with the updated version. 4. Verify the installation works correctly.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Enforce Strong Password Policy
allManually configure phpMyFAQ to require complex passwords (e.g., minimum length, mixed characters).
Edit configuration files to set password strength rules; refer to phpMyFAQ documentation for specific settings.
Implement Rate Limiting
linuxUse web server or application-level controls to limit login attempts and prevent brute-force attacks.
Configure rate limiting in .htaccess for Apache or nginx.conf for Nginx; example: LimitRequestBody 102400, LimitXMLRequestBody 102400
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Enforce strong passwords manually and monitor for suspicious login attempts.
- Isolate the phpMyFAQ instance behind a firewall and restrict access to trusted IPs.
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check the phpMyFAQ version in the admin panel or by examining the source code; if version is below 3.1.11, it is vulnerable.Check Version:
Check the version in the admin interface or run: grep -r 'version' /path/to/phpmyfaq/ | head -1Verify Fix Applied:
After updating, confirm the version is 3.1.11 or higher and test that password policies enforce strength requirements.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple failed login attempts from single IPs, unusual access patterns to admin pages.
Network Indicators:
- Increased traffic to login endpoints, brute-force tool signatures in HTTP requests.
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND (url_path="/admin/login" OR action="login_failed") | stats count by src_ip | where count > 10