CVE-2020-17496

vBulletin: PHP Module Remote Code Execution

As of , CVE-2020-17496 in vBulletin is on CISA's list of exploited vulnerabilities: CISA listed it on . Our patch-first group: Patch this week.

Exploited
Yes: CISA listed it on 3 November 2021
US federal deadline
3 May 2022181 days after CISA listed it. US federal civilian agencies must fix it by then.
Used in ransomware campaigns
Not known to CISA
EPSS score
0.87Higher than 99% of the CVEs EPSS scores. EPSS estimates the chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days.
EPSS when listed
Not availableCISA listed it before 4 February 2022, where the EPSS files we read begin.
Public exploit
1 Metasploit module
Fix
No vendor link in CISA's entry

What CISA says to do

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

CISA's required action

What the flaw is

The PHP module within vBulletin contains an unspecified vulnerability that allows for remote code execution via crafted subWidgets data in an ajax/render/widget_tabbedcontainer_tab_panel request. This CVE ID resolves an incomplete patch for CVE-2019-16759.

CISA's description

vBulletin 5.5.4 through 5.6.2 allows remote command execution via crafted subWidgets data in an ajax/render/widget_tabbedcontainer_tab_panel request. NOTE: this issue exists because of an incomplete fix for CVE-2019-16759.

The CVE record's description, from mitre

CVE published
12 August 2020
Assigned by
mitre
CVSS
9.8 Critical (CVSS 3.1, from CISA-ADP)
CWE-74
Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection')
CISA SSVC, exploitation
active
CISA SSVC, automatable
yes
CISA SSVC, technical impact
total

Timeline

  1. The CVE record was published.
  2. CISA added it to its list of exploited vulnerabilities.
  3. The US federal deadline to fix it.

Public exploits

Facts from Metasploit's module list and Exploit-DB's index; we never copy exploit code.

  • Metasploit: vBulletin 5.x /ajax/render/widget_tabbedcontainer_tab_panel PHP remote code execution.exploit module, rank excellent

vBulletin: other exploited entries

VulnerabilityProductOur groupListedDeadlineEPSS
CVE-2019-16759PHP Module Remote Code ExecutionvBulletin vBulletinPatch this weekMetasploit module; EPSS 0.990.99

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