dbcve.org
EvApplication · Php Nuke

CVE-2006-2828

MEDIUM · 6.4 CVSS v2.0 Published 2006-06-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
73/100
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
Global variable overwrite vulnerability in PHP-Nuke allows remote attackers to conduct remote PHP file inclusion attacks via a modified phpbb_root_path parameter to the admin scripts (1) index.php, (2) admin_ug_auth.php, (3) admin_board.php, (4) admin_disallow.php, (5) admin_forumauth.php, (6) admin_groups.php, (7) admin_ranks.php, (8) admin_styles.php, (9) admin_user_ban.php, (10) admin_words.php, (11) admin_avatar.php, (12) admin_db_utilities.php, (13) admin_forum_prune.php, (14) admin_forums.php, (15) admin_mass_email.php, (16) admin_smilies.php, (17) admin_ug_auth.php, and (18) admin_users.php, which overwrites $phpbb_root_path when the import_request_variables function is executed after $phpbb_root_path has been initialized to a static value.

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

PHP-Nuke suffers from a global variable overwrite vulnerability where the $phpbb_root_path variable, initially set to a static value, gets overwritten via the import_request_variables function when an attacker supplies a modified phpbb_root_path parameter. This affects 18 admin scripts including index.php, admin_users.php, and others, enabling remote PHP file inclusion attacks.

MitigationDisable register_globals in php.ini (register_globals = Off) or upgrade PHP-Nuke to a patched version that properly initializes variables before import_request_variables is called.

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
EvApplication
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
Partial
Availability
None

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/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 checks

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

  1. Confirm PHP-Nuke installation exists
    Locate PHP-Nuke by checking for the presence of mainfile.php or the html/mainfile.php directory in the web root. Look for the typical PHP-Nuke directory structure.
    Affected if PHP-Nuke files are found in the web directory, indicating the software is installed.
  2. Check PHP register_globals setting
    Create a PHP file with '<?php phpinfo(); ?>' and access it via browser, or run 'php -i' from command line. Locate the row showing 'register_globals' and verify if it is set to On or Off.
    Affected if register_globals is set to On - the vulnerability requires this setting to be enabled to allow the phpbb_root_path variable to be overwritten via user-supplied input.
  3. Verify vulnerable admin scripts exist
    Check for the presence of admin scripts in the /admin/ directory, specifically looking for index.php, admin_users.php, and other admin files that reference the $phpbb_root_path variable.
    Affected if The admin scripts mentioned in the CVE (index.php, admin_users.php, etc.) exist in the PHP-Nuke installation and contain the vulnerable $phpbb_root_path variable assignment.
  4. Check for import_request_variables usage
    Inspect mainfile.php or the vulnerable admin scripts for the presence of 'import_request_variables' function calls, which is the mechanism that allows GET/POST parameters to overwrite the $phpbb_root_path variable.
    Affected if The code contains 'import_request_variables' calls that process user input without proper variable initialization before the function executes.

A user is affected if PHP-Nuke is installed, PHP's register_globals is enabled (On), and the vulnerable admin scripts with import_request_variables are present and accessible.

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 register_globals in php.ini (register_globals = Off) or upgrade PHP-Nuke to a patched version that properly initializes variables before import_request_variables is called.

Fix this in Ev Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
17.0 hours of engineering $3,050
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,880.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2006-2828 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2006-2828 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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