CVE-2007-5943
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 · uneditedSimple Machines Forum (SMF) 1.1.4 allows remote attackers to read a message in private forums by using the advanced search module with the "show results as messages" option, then searching for possible keywords contained in that 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 · moderate confidenceSimple Machines Forum (SMF) 1.1.4 contains an access control bypass in its advanced search module. When the 'show results as messages' option is used, the search functionality fails to properly enforce permission checks for private forums, allowing unauthorized users to retrieve private message content by searching for keywords contained in those 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= 1.1.4CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm SMF version is 1.1.4Locate the version file or admin panel that displays the installed SMF version. Typical locations include the admin dashboard 'Support' or 'Maintenance' section, or a version.php file in the forum root directory.Affected if The installed version is exactly 1.1.4 (no other versions are affected per the advisory)
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Verify advanced search module is enabledAccess the forum as a guest or low-privilege user and navigate to the search feature. Confirm the search function is accessible without administrative credentials.Affected if The search module is active and accessible to non-admin users
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Check for 'show results as messages' optionIn the search interface, locate the display option that shows results as individual messages rather than a summary list. This is typically a dropdown or radio button setting in the search results view.Affected if The 'show results as messages' display option is present and usable
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Verify existence of private forumsCheck the forum's category/board structure for boards that have restricted access permissions, or that are designated as private communities accessible only to certain member groups.Affected if Private forums (boards with restricted membership or hidden content) exist in the installation
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Confirm search indexes private contentTest whether the search functionality indexes or can retrieve content from private forums when accessed by an unauthorized user account. Attempt a search using keywords likely present in private board posts.Affected if Search results can return content from private forums to users who lack permission to view those forums directly
A user is affected if they are running exactly SMF version 1.1.4 and have private forums that could be exposed through the search module's 'show results as messages' option.
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 dataApply the vendor patch for SMF 1.1.4 that enforces proper permission validation in the search module, ensuring users cannot access private forum content through search queries.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2007-5943 — 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-2007-5943 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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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.
- 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