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Invision Power BoardApplication · Invision Power Services

CVE-2006-0909

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2006-02-28
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
Invision Power Board (IPB) 2.1.4 and earlier allows remote attackers to view sensitive information via a direct request to multiple PHP scripts that include the full path in error messages, including (1) PEAR/Text/Diff/Renderer/inline.php, (2) PEAR/Text/Diff/Renderer/unified.php, (3) PEAR/Text/Diff3.php, (4) class_db.php, (5) class_db_mysql.php, and (6) class_xml.php in the ips_kernel/ directory; (7) mysql_admin_queries.php, (8) mysql_extra_queries.php, (9) mysql_queries.php, and (10) mysql_subsm_queries.php in the sources/sql directory; (11) sources/acp_loaders/acp_pages_components.php; (12) sources/action_admin/member.php and (13) sources/action_admin/paysubscriptions.php; (14) login.php, (15) messenger.php, (16) moderate.php, (17) paysubscriptions.php, (18) register.php, (19) search.php, (20) topics.php, (21) and usercp.php in the sources/action_public directory; (22) bbcode/class_bbcode.php, (23) bbcode/class_bbcode_legacy.php, (24) editor/class_editor_rte.php, (25) editor/class_editor_std.php, (26) post/class_post.php, (27) post/class_post_edit.php, (28) post/class_post_new.php, (29) and post/class_post_reply.php in the sources/classes directory; (30) sources/components_acp/registration_DEPR.php; (31) sources/handlers/han_paysubscriptions.php; (32) func_usercp.php; (33) search_mysql_ftext.php, and (34) search_mysql_man.php in the sources/lib/ directory; and (35) convert/auth.php.bak, (36) external/auth.php, and (37) ldap/auth.php in the sources/loginauth directory.

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

Multiple PHP scripts in IPB 2.1.4 and earlier leak the full server filesystem path in error messages when accessed directly, revealing sensitive server configuration details including absolute paths to the webroot.

MitigationDisable PHP error display (display_errors=Off) in php.ini and/or configure web server rules to prevent direct access to these include files, as this is a classic full path disclosure vulnerability that aids 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
Invision Power BoardApplication
Affected:= 2.0.0= 2.0.1= 2.0.2= 2.0.3= 2.0.4= 2.1.0= 2.1.1= 2.1.2= 2.1.3= 2.1.4= 2.1_beta2= 2.1_beta3

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. Identify IPB installation and version
    Look for version.php in the IPB installation directory (common paths: /forums/, /board/, or webroot). Alternatively, check the admin control panel footer for the version number, or inspect the main IPB configuration file for a version string.
    Affected if The installed version matches any of: 2.0.0, 2.0.1, 2.0.2, 2.0.3, 2.0.4, 2.1.0, 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.1.4, 2.1_beta2, or 2.1_beta3.
  2. Verify PHP error display is enabled
    Create a temporary PHP file with '<?php phpinfo(); ?>' and access it via web browser, then search for 'display_errors' in the output. Alternatively, check your php.ini configuration file for 'display_errors = On'.
    Affected if display_errors is set to On (value '1' or 'On'), allowing PHP error messages to be displayed in the browser.
  3. Test direct access to include files
    Attempt to access a PHP include file directly via HTTP. Common targets in IPB include files in the 'sources/lib/' directory, such as 'sources/lib/post_functions.php' or similar include files. Observe whether the response contains a full server filesystem path (e.g., '/var/www/html/').
    Affected if Requesting the file directly returns a PHP error message that includes an absolute server path (full path to the webroot or application directory).

You are affected if IPB version 2.0.0 through 2.1.4 (including beta versions) is installed AND PHP display_errors is enabled, allowing direct access to PHP include files to reveal full filesystem paths in error messages.

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

Disable PHP error display (display_errors=Off) in php.ini and/or configure web server rules to prevent direct access to these include files, as this is a classic full path disclosure vulnerability that aids reconnaissance.

Fix this in Invision Power Board Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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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-2006-0909 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