JoomlaCMS
CVE-2008-4105
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 · uneditedJRequest in Joomla! 1.5 before 1.5.7 does not sanitize variables that were set with JRequest::setVar, which allows remote attackers to conduct "variable injection" attacks and have unspecified other impact.
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 confidenceJRequest in Joomla! 1.5 before version 1.5.7 fails to sanitize variables that were set via JRequest::setVar(), enabling remote attackers to conduct variable injection attacks with unspecified impact.
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
JoomlaCMS
= 1.5= 1.5.1= 1.5.2= 1.5.3= 1.5.4= 1.5.5= 1.5.6CVSS 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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Identify Joomla versionLocate the version file in the Joomla installation. Typically found at /libraries/joomla/version.php (or /libraries/cms/version.php in later installations). Open the file and look for a line defining the RELEASE, DEV_LEVEL, or version number constants.Affected if The version returned is 1.5.0 through 1.5.6 (or any 1.5.x version below 1.5.7)
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Verify JRequest library file existsLocate the JRequest class file. In Joomla 1.5.x it is typically found at /libraries/joomla/environment/request.php or /libraries/joomla/application/component/request.php. Confirm the file exists and contains the setVar method.Affected if The JRequest class file exists and contains the setVar method definition from the affected version range
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Check setVar method implementationOpen the JRequest class file and examine the setVar method. Look for whether the method accepts a third parameter (the hash parameter) and whether it validates the hash before assigning variables.Affected if The setVar method accepts a hash parameter but does not perform proper validation of the hash before processing the variable, allowing injection
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Identify usage of setVar in custom codeSearch the codebase for any PHP files that call JRequest::setVar() or $jreq->setVar(). Look in components, modules, and plugins directories under /components/, /modules/, and /plugins/. Check if any of these calls pass user-supplied input directly to the method without sanitization.Affected if Custom code calls JRequest::setVar() with unsanitized input derived from user request parameters
You are affected if your Joomla installation is version 1.5.0 through 1.5.6 (any 1.5.x version below 1.5.7) and your site runs custom code that uses JRequest::setVar() with user-supplied input.
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 Joomla! 1.5 to version 1.5.7 or later where the variable sanitization in JRequest was properly implemented.
Fix this in Joomla
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,992.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-4105 — 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-2008-4105 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