CVE-2006-5435
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 · uneditedPHP remote file inclusion vulnerability in groupcp.php in phpBB 2.0.10 and earlier allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary PHP code via a URL in the phpbb_root_path parameter. NOTE: CVE and the vendor dispute this vulnerability because $phpbb_root_path is defined before use
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 confidenceRemote file inclusion vulnerability in phpBB 2.0.10 and earlier allows execution of arbitrary PHP code via the phpbb_root_path parameter in groupcp.php. The vendor disputes this finding, claiming $phpbb_root_path is defined before use, which may limit actual exploitability despite the high CVSS score.
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<= 2.0.10CVSS 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
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/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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Locate phpBB installationSearch for phpBB files on the web server, typically in common web directories. Look for files like viewforum.php, viewtopic.php, or a folder named 'phpBB' or 'forum'. Check for the presence of a 'includes/constants.php' or 'config.php' file that indicates a phpBB installation.Affected if phpBB is installed on the server in a web-accessible directory
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Determine phpBB versionOpen the file 'includes/constants.php' in the phpBB installation directory and look for a line defining PHPBB_VERSION or similar version constant. Alternatively, check the 'changelog.txt' or 'docs' folder for version information. Compare the found version number to the affected range: 2.0.10 or earlier.Affected if The installed version is phpBB 2.0.10 or any earlier version (e.g., 2.0.9, 2.0.8, etc.)
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Verify groupcp.php exists and is accessibleCheck for the presence of the file 'groupcp.php' in the root phpBB directory. Confirm it is accessible via HTTP (e.g., https://example.com/forum/groupcp.php).Affected if groupcp.php exists and is web-accessible
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Inspect phpbb_root_path initialization in groupcp.phpOpen groupcp.php in a text editor and search for the variable '$phpbb_root_path'. Examine whether this variable is assigned a safe default value (such as './') BEFORE any include or require statements that use it. Look for code patterns like 'define("PHPBB_ROOT_PATH", "./");' or '$phpbb_root_path = "./";' appearing before the first include/require that references this variable.Affected if The variable $phpbb_root_path is NOT defined with a safe default before being used in include/require statements, allowing external control of the path parameter
A user is affected if they have phpBB version 2.0.10 or earlier installed, with groupcp.php accessible and where $phpbb_root_path is not properly initialized before use in inclusion operations.
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 to a supported version of phpBB, or at minimum verify the $phpbb_root_path variable is properly initialized before inclusion operations in groupcp.php.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2006-5435 — 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-2006-5435 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
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