CVE-2023-40766
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in PHPJabbers Ticket Support Script v3.2 allows attackers to enumerate valid user accounts through the password recovery feature. By observing differences in system responses, attackers can identify which usernames/emails exist in the system, enabling targeted brute force attacks. Organizations using this specific version of the ticket support script are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- PHPJabbers Ticket Support Script
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Attackers could enumerate all valid user accounts, then perform credential stuffing or brute force attacks to compromise accounts, potentially gaining unauthorized access to support tickets and sensitive customer data.
Likely Case
Attackers will enumerate valid user accounts and attempt password guessing attacks against those accounts, potentially compromising low-privilege user accounts.
If Mitigated
With proper rate limiting, account lockout policies, and monitoring, impact is limited to user enumeration without successful account compromise.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires only web access to the password recovery page; tools like Burp Suite or custom scripts can automate user enumeration.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Unknown
Vendor Advisory: https://www.phpjabbers.com/ticket-support-script/
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Check PHPJabbers website for updated version
2. Backup current installation
3. Replace vulnerable files with patched version
4. Test functionality
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Implement Uniform Error Messages
allModify password recovery to return identical messages for both valid and invalid users
Edit PHP files handling password recovery to standardize responses
Add Rate Limiting
allImplement request throttling on password recovery endpoint
Configure web server or application rate limiting rules
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable password recovery functionality 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 users; if response differs (timing or message), system is vulnerableCheck Version:
Check script version in admin panel or readme filesVerify Fix Applied:
After modifications, test that both valid and invalid user requests return identical responses📡 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 endpoint
- Sequential username/email testing patterns
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND uri="/password-recovery" AND status=200 | stats count by client_ip | where count > 10