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PhplistApplication · Tincan

CVE-2005-2433

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2005-08-03
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
PhpList allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information via a direct request to (1) about.php, (2) connect.php, (3) domainstats.php or (4) usercheck.php in public_html/lists/admin directory, (5) attributes.php, (6) dbcheck.php, (7) importcsv.php, (8) user.php, (9) usermgt.php, or (10) users.php in admin/commonlib/pages directory, (11) helloworld.php, or (12) sidebar.php in public_html/lists/admin/plugins directory, or (13) main.php in public_html/lists/admin/plugsins/defaultplugin directory, which reveal the 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 confidence

phpList contains multiple PHP scripts that, when accessed directly without proper initialization, trigger PHP errors that reveal the full server file system path. This path disclosure occurs in 13 specific files across admin and plugin directories (about.php, connect.php, domainstats.php, usercheck.php, attributes.php, dbcheck.php, importcsv.php, user.php, usermgt.php, users.php, helloworld.php, sidebar.php, and main.php). An attacker can use this information to fingerprint the server environment and aid in further exploitation.

MitigationAdd a common initialization check at the beginning of each vulnerable script that terminates execution if the script is accessed directly without proper application context, or configure PHP's error handling to suppress path disclosure in error messages.

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
PhplistApplication
Affected:all versions

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm phpList installation exists
    Identify whether phpList ( Tincan Phplist ) is installed on the server by checking for the typical directory structure: look for a 'lists' or 'phplist' directory in the web root, or check for the presence of files like 'lists/index.php', 'lists/admin/index.php', or configuration files such as 'lists/config/config.php'.
    Affected if phpList is present on the server.
  2. Locate the 13 vulnerable scripts
    Check for the existence of the following files in the web-accessible directories: /lists/admin/about.php, /lists/admin/connect.php, /lists/admin/domainstats.php, /lists/admin/usercheck.php, /lists/admin/attributes.php, /lists/admin/dbcheck.php, /lists/admin/importcsv.php, /lists/admin/user.php, /lists/admin/usermgt.php, /lists/admin/users.php, /lists/plugins/helloworld.php, /lists/plugins/sidebar.php, and /lists/plugins/main.php. Use a file listing command or check the directory structure.
    Affected if Any of these 13 specific files exist in the expected admin or plugin directories.
  3. Test direct access to a vulnerable file
    Using a web browser or curl command, make an HTTP request directly to one of the vulnerable files (for example, http://yourserver/lists/admin/about.php or http://yourserver/lists/plugins/helloworld.php) without passing through the normal phpList initialization. Observe the HTTP response and any error messages displayed.
    Affected if Accessing the file directly produces a PHP error message that includes the full server file system path (such as '/var/www/html/lists/...' or 'C:\inetpub\...').
  4. Check PHP error reporting configuration
    Review the PHP configuration file (php.ini) or check the runtime error reporting settings using phpinfo(). Look for the 'display_errors' setting and 'error_reporting' level. Specifically check whether error messages are set to display to the screen (display_errors = On) rather than being logged only.
    Affected if PHP display_errors is enabled and error_reporting is set to expose warnings or errors that would reveal file paths.

A system is affected if direct HTTP access to any of the 13 listed phpList files reveals the server's full filesystem path in error messages, which occurs when the scripts lack proper initialization checks and PHP error display is enabled.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Add a common initialization check at the beginning of each vulnerable script that terminates execution if the script is accessed directly without proper application context, or configure PHP's error handling to suppress path disclosure in error messages.

Fix this in Phplist Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $3,000
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2005-2433 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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