CVE intelligence and bounded remediation
CVE-2009-5068 — There is a file disclosure vulnerability in SMF (Simple Machines Forum) affecting versions through v2.0.3
High
CVSS 7.2
There is a file disclosure vulnerability in SMF (Simple Machines Forum) affecting versions through v2.0.3. On some configurations a SMF deployment is shared by several "co-admins" that are not trusted beyond the SMF deployment. This vulnerability allows them to read arbitrary files on the filesystem and therefore gain new privileges by reading the settings.php with the database passwords.
- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.2 (3.1)
- Published
- 2020-01-15
- CISA KEV
- Not currently listed
- Ecosystem
- software/application
- Weaknesses
- CWE-312
Affected products
- simplemachines / simple_machines_forum
Matched remediation archetype
Path traversal, unsafe upload, and file handling
This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.
Check exposure
- Trace untrusted filenames, archive entries, URLs, and path segments into read, write, include, extraction, and upload operations.
- Identify filesystem roots, mount permissions, symbolic-link behavior, archive handling, and whether uploaded content is web-accessible or executable.
- Review canonicalization and containment checks across supported operating systems and storage backends.
Remediate safely
- Generate server-side storage identifiers and resolve paths beneath a fixed root using filesystem-aware containment checks.
- Reject absolute, parent-relative, alternate-separator, device, link, and archive entries that escape the intended root.
- Store uploads outside executable or served paths, validate type and size, and use private atomic temporary files.
Authoritative sources
Complete CVE record and remediation plan
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