CVE-2004-0338
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedSQL injection vulnerability in search.php for Invision Board Forum allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary SQL queries via the st parameter.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceSQL injection vulnerability in Invision Board Forum's search.php allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary SQL commands through the st parameter, potentially exposing sensitive database information or modifying data.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 1.0= 1.0.1= 1.1.1= 1.1.2= 1.2= 1.3= 2.0_alpha_3= 2.0_pdr3CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate the Invision Board search.php fileCheck your web server document root for the path /forums/search.php or similar directory structure where Invision Board is installed. Common paths include /community/, /forum/, or the root web directory.Affected if The search.php file exists in your Invision Board installation directory.
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Identify the Invision Board version installedExamine the version file in your Invision Board installation. Common locations include a version info file in the /sources/ directory or check the footer of pages for the displayed version number.Affected if The installed version matches any of these: 1.0, 1.0.1, 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.2, 1.3, 2.0_alpha_3, or 2.0_pdr3.
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Verify the st parameter is processed by search.phpOpen search.php in a text editor and search for references to the 'st' parameter. Look for lines using $_REQUEST['st'], $_GET['st'], or $_POST['st'] to confirm the parameter is being read.Affected if The search.php file reads and uses the st parameter in server-side code without explicit sanitization checks.
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Confirm direct SQL usage with the st parameterExamine the code around where 'st' is used. Look for SQL query strings that concatenate or embed the st variable directly into queries, such as $db->query("...st...") or similar database execution patterns.Affected if The st parameter value is inserted directly into an SQL query string without being passed through a parameterized query or escape function.
You are affected if Invision Board versions 1.0 through 2.0_pdr3 are installed and the search.php file processes the st parameter in SQL queries without using parameterized queries or input sanitization.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataImplement parameterized queries (prepared statements) for the st parameter in search.php and apply input validation to sanitize all user-supplied parameters before database queries.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2004-0338 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2004-0338 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data