CVE-2004-0355
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 · uneditedInvision Power Board 1.3 Final allows remote attackers to gain sensitive information by selecting a file for "Personal Photo" that is not an image file, which displays the installation path in an error message.
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 confidenceInvision Power Board 1.3 Final fails to properly validate file types during personal photo uploads. When a remote attacker uploads a non-image file as their personal photo, the application displays an error message that reveals the server's installation path, enabling further reconnaissance.
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= 1.3CVSS 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
- Partial
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N
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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Confirm Invision Power Board versionCheck the version file (typically conf_global.php or similar config file in the board's root directory) or access the admin control panel to view system information. Look for version 1.3 specifically.Affected if The installed version is exactly 1.3 (Final)
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Locate the upload functionalityNavigate to the user profile settings or member controls section where personal photo upload is available. This is typically found in the user profile editing area or avatar upload section.Affected if The personal photo upload feature is present and accessible to users
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Test for path disclosure in upload errorsAttempt to upload a non-image file (such as a text file or PHP script) as the personal photo. Observe any error messages displayed by the application.Affected if The error message returned contains the server's installation path, absolute file paths, or directory structures (such as /home/, /var/www/, or similar path information)
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Check error message formatCompare the error message shown during failed uploads against the expected generic message. Look for traces of filesystem paths, variable values, or configuration details in the output.Affected if The error response includes file system paths or internal system information rather than a generic validation message
A user is affected if they are running Invision Power Board version 1.3 and the upload error handling reveals the server's installation path or other internal filesystem information.
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 strict file type validation for uploads (checking magic bytes/MIME type, not just extension) and sanitize error messages to prevent path disclosure.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2004-0355 — 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-2004-0355 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