CVE-2005-4688
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 · uneditedPunBB 1.2.9 does not require password entry when changing the e-mail address in an account's profile, which might allow an attacker to make an address change via a hijacked login session.
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 · moderate confidencePunBB 1.2.9 lacks password verification when users change their e-mail address in the profile settings. An attacker who has obtained a valid session (via session hijacking, shared computer, or stolen session cookie) can modify the victim's email address without needing to re-authenticate, potentially enabling further attacks like password resets or account takeover.
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= 1.2.9CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/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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Identify the installed PunBB versionLocate the version file or check the admin panel for the exact version number. Common locations include version.php or the footer of admin pages.Affected if The installed version is exactly 1.2.9 (the only affected version listed)
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Verify the profile email modification feature existsCheck if the user profile functionality is accessible and includes email address change options. Look for profile.php or similar files handling user profile updates.Affected if The profile email change feature is present and enabled on the installation
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Inspect the profile update code for password verificationExamine the source code that handles email address changes in the profile (typically in profile.php or user.php). Look for any password confirmation logic before allowing email modifications.Affected if The code does not require password re-verification when changing the email address field in user profiles
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Check for any custom modifications to email change logicReview any local modifications or patches applied to the standard PunBB profile handling code. Compare against the vanilla 1.2.9 release.Affected if No custom code has been added to enforce password verification before email changes
You are affected if you are running PunBB version 1.2.9 with the profile email change feature enabled and the code lacks password verification logic for sensitive profile modifications.
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 password re-verification for sensitive profile changes including email address modification. Alternatively, upgrade to a patched version of PunBB if available.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2005-4688 — 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-2005-4688 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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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.
- 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