CVE-2005-1220
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 · uneditedShoutbox SCRIPT 3.0.2 and earlier allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information via a direct request to db/settings.dat, which displays usernames and password hashes.
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 confidenceShoutbox SCRIPT 3.0.2 and earlier contains a sensitive information disclosure vulnerability where the file db/settings.dat is directly accessible via HTTP request without authentication. This file stores usernames and password hashes in plaintext, allowing remote attackers to obtain credentials by simply requesting the file.
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<= 3.0.2CVSS 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
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
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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Identify if Shoutbox Script is installedLook for the presence of shoutbox.php or common Shoutbox Script files in the web document root. Check directories like /shoutbox/, /sb/, or the root for files such as shoutbox.php, index.php, or config files typical of the Knusperleicht Shoutbox Script.Affected if The Knusperleicht Shoutbox Script is present in the web directory.
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Determine the installed versionCheck for a version identifier in the source code comments of shoutbox.php or index.php, or look for a version file typically named version.txt, ver.txt, or similar within the script directory. Compare the found version number against the affected range of 3.0.2 and earlier.Affected if The installed version is 3.0.2 or any earlier version.
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Verify db/settings.dat file existsCheck for the presence of the db/settings.dat file within the Shoutbox Script installation directory structure. This file is stored in the db subdirectory relative to the script root.Affected if The db/settings.dat file exists in the installation.
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Test HTTP access to db/settings.datAttempt to retrieve the file directly via HTTP by requesting: http://[target]/[shoutbox_path]/db/settings.dat. If the web server returns the file contents instead of a 403 Forbidden or 404 Not Found response, the file is directly accessible.Affected if The HTTP request returns the file contents (200 OK) without requiring authentication.
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Confirm sensitive data exposureExamine the contents of the retrieved settings.dat file. Look for plaintext username entries and password hash values stored within the file structure.Affected if The file contains plaintext usernames and/or password hashes.
A user is affected if the Knusperleicht Shoutbox Script version 3.0.2 or earlier is installed and the db/settings.dat file is accessible via HTTP without authentication, exposing plaintext credentials.
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 dataRestrict access to db/settings.dat by moving it outside the web root directory or implementing proper access controls via web server configuration (e.g., .htaccess deny rules) to prevent unauthenticated HTTP access.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2005-1220 — 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-2005-1220 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