Simple Machines ForumApplication · Simple Machines

CVE-2007-3942

MEDIUM · 5.8 CVSS v2.0 Published 2007-07-21
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
67/100
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
Directory traversal vulnerability in index.php in Simple Machines Forum (SMF) 1.1.3 allows remote attackers to include local files via unspecified vectors related to the sourcedir parameter or the actionArray hash. NOTE: CVE and multiple third parties dispute this vulnerability because both sourcedir and actionArray are 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 · low confidence

Claimed directory traversal/file inclusion in SMF 1.1.3 index.php involving the sourcedir parameter and actionArray hash. However, the CVE and third parties dispute this vulnerability, noting that both parameters are defined before use, which would prevent typical PHP local file inclusion exploitation.

MitigationGiven the dispute over this vulnerability's validity, verify the actual code behavior in the specific SMF version; if concerned, upgrade to a supported SMF release as 1.1.3 is legacy software.

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
Simple Machines ForumApplication
Affected:= 1.1.3

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
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
None

AV:N/AC:M/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. Identify SMF installation version
    Locate the SMF installation directory and check the version. Common locations: look for 'index.php', 'Settings.php', or a 'version' file in the forum root directory. The version is often hardcoded in index.php or a version info file.
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 1.1.3
  2. Verify index.php exists
    Confirm that index.php exists in the SMF web root directory.
    Affected if The index.php file from SMF 1.1.3 is present in the web-accessible directory
  3. Examine sourcedir parameter handling
    Inspect the index.php file for how the 'sourcedir' parameter is processed. Look for the code section where sourcedir is defined or assigned before any include/require statements use it.
    Affected if The sourcedir parameter is defined and used in include/require statements in index.php (indicating potential LFI vector if improperly handled, though disputed)
  4. Review actionArray hash implementation
    Search the index.php file for 'actionArray' and verify how this array is constructed and used, particularly in relation to the 'action' parameter processing.
    Affected if The actionArray hash is used to map action parameters to files without proper validation (the disputed exploitation condition)

A user is affected only if they run SMF version 1.1.3 AND the index.php contains the disputed sourcedir/actionArray handling that could allow file inclusion when the parameters are manipulated, though the vulnerability validity is contested.

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

Given the dispute over this vulnerability's validity, verify the actual code behavior in the specific SMF version; if concerned, upgrade to a supported SMF release as 1.1.3 is legacy software.

Fix this in Simple Machines Forum Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing1.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
4.0 hours of engineering $750
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2007-3942 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
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