CVE-2008-4170
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 · uneditedcreate_account.php in osCommerce 2.2 RC 2a allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information via an invalid dob parameter, which reveals the installation path in an error 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 · high confidenceIn osCommerce 2.2 RC 2a, the create_account.php script fails to properly validate the 'dob' (date of birth) parameter. When an invalid value is submitted, PHP's error handling reveals the full server filesystem installation path in the error message, which can aid attackers in reconnaissance for further attacks.
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= 2.2CVSS 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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Identify osCommerce installation and versionCheck for osCommerce installation by looking for the admin/login.php file or catalog/index.php. Review any version.php file in the installation directory to confirm the installed version is 2.2.Affected if The installed version is osCommerce 2.2 or the version cannot be determined but the software appears to be this legacy version.
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Verify create_account.php existsLocate the create_account.php file in the catalog directory (typically /catalog/create_account.php). This is the script where the vulnerable dob parameter handling occurs.Affected if The create_account.php file exists in the osCommerce installation directory.
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Check PHP error display configurationReview the PHP configuration file (php.ini) or check the runtime setting via phpinfo() for the display_errors directive. Look for 'display_errors = On' in the relevant php.ini or check the local value in a PHP info page.Affected if PHP display_errors is set to On, which allows error messages (including path disclosure) to be displayed to users.
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Confirm web accessibility of create_accountVerify that the create_account.php script is accessible via the web server (typically at /catalog/create_account.php). This is a customer registration page that would be publicly accessible in a typical installation.Affected if The create_account.php registration page is accessible over HTTP/HTTPS without authentication.
You are affected if osCommerce 2.2 is installed, the create_account.php file exists and is web-accessible, AND PHP display_errors is enabled, allowing the dob parameter to trigger path disclosure errors.
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 dataFix by implementing proper input validation for the dob parameter and configuring PHP/error handling to display generic error messages in production that do not expose filesystem paths. Alternatively, upgrade to a newer osCommerce version that addresses this and other vulnerabilities.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-4170 — 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-2008-4170 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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