phpMyFAQ: Path Traversal - Arbitrary File Deletion in MediaBrowserController
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · High · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and GitHub.
Summary
phpMyFAQ is an open source FAQ web application. Prior to version 4.1.1, the MediaBrowserController::index() method handles file deletion for the media browser. When the fileRemove action is triggered, the user-supplied name parameter is concatenated with the base upload directory path without any path traversal validation. The FILTER_SANITIZE_SPECIAL_CHARS filter only encodes HTML special characters (&, ', ", <, >) and characters with ASCII value < 32, and does not prevent directory traversal sequences like ../. Additionally, the endpoint does not validate CSRF tokens, making it exploitable via CSRF attacks. This issue has been patched in version 4.1.1.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- Poc
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| thorsten | phpMyFAQ | before 4.1.1 | 4.1.1 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq (Packagist) | before 4.1.1 | 4.1.1 | Patch available | GHSA-38m8-xrfj-v38x |
- phpMyFAQ Vendorthorsten Affected before 4.1.1 Fixed in 4.1.1 Patch available CNA
- phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq (Packagist) Vendor— Affected before 4.1.1 Fixed in 4.1.1 Patch available GHSA-38m8-xrfj-v38x
Remediation
- Fix · CNA phpMyFAQ (thorsten) Fixed in 4.1.1
- Fix · GHSA-38m8-xrfj-v38x phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq (Packagist) Fixed in 4.1.1 Advisory →
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-34728
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-38m8-xrfj-v38x
References
More thorsten Phpmyfaq vulnerabilities
- TI-2023-00296 Improper Authentication in thorsten/phpmyfaq CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-53313 phpMyFAQ 3.1.0 through 4.1.6 Authentication Bypass via LDAP CVSS 4.0HIGH 8.8
- TI-2025-37331 phpMyFAQ duplicate email registration allows multiple accounts with the same email CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2024-36257 phpMyFAQ Generates an Error Message Containing Sensitive Information if database server is not available CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.6
- TI-2023-03720 Improper Neutralization of Formula Elements in a CSV File in thorsten/phpmyfaq CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2023-00749 Command Injection in thorsten/phpmyfaq CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
Sources
- CVE-2026-34728 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-34728 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-38m8-xrfj-v38x · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences