CVE-2006-2219
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 · uneditedphpBB 2.0.20 does not verify user-specified input variable types before being passed to type-dependent functions, which allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information, as demonstrated by the (1) mode parameter to memberlist.php and the (2) highlight parameter to viewtopic.php that are used as an argument to the htmlspecialchars or urlencode functions, which displays the installation path in the resulting 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 confidencephpBB 2.0.20 fails to validate input variable types before passing them to type-dependent functions like htmlspecialchars() and urlencode(). By supplying specially crafted values to the mode parameter in memberlist.php or the highlight parameter in viewtopic.php, attackers can trigger type-related errors that expose the server's installation path 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= 2.0.20CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/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 installed phpBB versionCheck the version.php file in your phpBB installation root directory, or log into the phpBB admin control panel and view the version information typically found in the footer or admin overview pageAffected if The installed version is exactly 2.0.20
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Verify memberlist.php is presentCheck if the file memberlist.php exists in your phpBB web root directoryAffected if The file exists and phpBB 2.0.20 is installed
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Verify viewtopic.php is presentCheck if the file viewtopic.php exists in your phpBB web root directoryAffected if The file exists and phpBB 2.0.20 is installed
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Check PHP error display settingsInspect your PHP configuration (php.ini) or test if PHP errors are displayed by visiting a page that triggers an error; check if display_errors is enabledAffected if PHP display_errors is enabled and phpBB 2.0.20 is running with the vulnerable files accessible
You are affected if phpBB version 2.0.20 is installed and the memberlist.php or viewtopic.php files are accessible on your server, especially with PHP error display enabled.
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 dataUpgrade phpBB to a patched version (2.0.21 or later). Alternatively, implement input type validation to ensure parameters are the expected data type before being processed by type-dependent functions.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2006-2219 — 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-2006-2219 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