CVE-2005-4638
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 · uneditedindex.php in Kayako SupportSuite 3.00.26 and earlier allow remote attackers to obtain the full path via (1) _a and (2) newsid parameters in the news module, (3) downloaditemid parameter in the downloads module, and (4) kbarticleid parameter in the knowledgebase module.
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 confidenceKayako SupportSuite 3.00.26 and earlier contains a path disclosure vulnerability in index.php. Remote attackers can obtain the full server filesystem path by supplying crafted values to the _a and newsid parameters in the news module, the downloaditemid parameter in the downloads module, or the kbarticleid parameter in the knowledgebase module. This occurs due to improper error handling that exposes PHP error messages containing absolute paths.
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<= 3.00.26CVSS 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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Locate Kayako SupportSuite installationSearch for index.php files that belong to Kayako SupportSuite, typically in web-accessible directories. Check common paths such as /support, /helpdesk, or the web root.Affected if Kayako SupportSuite is installed on the server
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Determine installed versionInspect the index.php file or any version file in the installation directory for a version string. Compare the version number against the affected range.Affected if The installed version is 3.00.26 or earlier
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Check PHP error display configurationCreate a PHP script with 'phpinfo();' or check the PHP configuration file (php.ini) for the 'display_errors' setting.Affected if display_errors is set to On in the PHP configuration
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Test path disclosure via news moduleSend an HTTP request to index.php with an invalid or crafted value for the '_a' or 'newsid' parameter, for example: ?_a=news&newsid=invalidAffected if The response includes absolute filesystem paths in PHP error messages
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Test path disclosure via downloads moduleSend an HTTP request to index.php with an invalid value for the 'downloaditemid' parameter, for example: ?_a=downloads&downloaditemid=invalidAffected if The response reveals absolute filesystem paths in error output
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Test path disclosure via knowledgebase moduleSend an HTTP request to index.php with an invalid value for the 'kbarticleid' parameter, for example: ?_a=kb&kbarticleid=invalidAffected if The response exposes absolute filesystem paths in error messages
A user is affected if Kayako SupportSuite version 3.00.26 or earlier is installed and PHP display_errors is enabled, allowing unauthenticated attackers to obtain server filesystem paths through the _a, newsid, downloaditemid, or kbarticleid parameters.
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 dataDisable PHP error reporting and display_errors in production environments. Implement proper input validation and sanitization for the affected parameters (_a, newsid, downloaditemid, kbarticleid) in index.php, and ensure errors are handled gracefully without exposing filesystem paths.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2005-4638 — 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-2005-4638 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