CVE-2023-40760
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in PHP Jabbers Hotel Booking System v4.0 allows attackers to enumerate valid user accounts through password recovery functionality. Attackers can determine which usernames/emails exist in the system by observing different error messages, enabling targeted brute force attacks. Organizations using this specific version of the hotel booking software are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- PHP Jabbers Hotel Booking System
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers enumerate all valid user accounts, then perform credential stuffing or brute force attacks to compromise accounts, potentially gaining administrative access to the booking system and sensitive guest data.
Likely Case
Attackers identify valid user accounts and perform targeted password attacks against those accounts, potentially compromising user sessions and accessing booking information.
If Mitigated
User enumeration prevented; attackers cannot distinguish between valid and invalid accounts, making brute force attacks inefficient and detectable.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires no authentication and involves simple HTTP requests to password recovery endpoints with different usernames/emails.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Unknown
Vendor Advisory: https://www.phpjabbers.com/hotel-booking-system/
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Check PHP Jabbers website for security updates
2. Upgrade to latest version if available
3. Apply any security patches provided by vendor
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Standardize Password Recovery Messages
allModify password recovery functionality to return identical messages for both valid and invalid users
Edit PHP files handling password recovery to use generic messages
Implement Rate Limiting
allAdd rate limiting to password recovery endpoints to prevent automated enumeration
Configure web server or application rate limiting for /password-recovery paths
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable password recovery functionality entirely if not required
- Implement web application firewall rules to detect and block enumeration attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Test password recovery with valid and invalid usernames/emails; if responses differ in content or timing, system is vulnerableCheck Version:
Check application version in admin panel or read version.txt file if presentVerify Fix Applied:
After applying fixes, test with valid and invalid credentials; responses should be identical in content and timing📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Multiple failed password recovery attempts for different usernames
- Unusual patterns of password reset requests
Network Indicators:
- High volume of POST requests to password recovery endpoints
- Sequential username/email attempts
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND (uri_path="/password-recovery" OR uri_path="/forgot-password") AND status=200 | stats count by client_ip | where count > 10