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PhpcollabApplication

CVE-2008-4304

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2008-12-23
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.5 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
general/login.php in phpCollab 2.5 rc3 and earlier allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via shell metacharacters in unspecified input related to the SSL_CLIENT_CERT environment variable. NOTE: in some environments, SSL_CLIENT_CERT always has a base64-encoded string value, which may impose constraints on injection for typical shells.

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 confidence

Command injection vulnerability in phpCollab 2.5 rc3 and earlier allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary OS commands via shell metacharacters in input related to the SSL_CLIENT_CERT environment variable processed in general/login.php. The vulnerability is exploitable pre-authentication and stems from unsafe use of environment variable data in shell command execution.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched version of phpCollab beyond 2.5 rc3, or implement proper input sanitization/validation on the SSL_CLIENT_CERT environment variable before using it in any shell command context.

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
PhpcollabApplication
Affected:<= 2.5= 2.2= 2.3= 2.4= 2.5

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
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

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 phpCollab installation and version
    Locate phpCollab installation directory and check version.php or similar version file, or look for version string in application source files
    Affected if Installed version is 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, or any version <= 2.5 rc3
  2. Verify vulnerable file exists
    Check if general/login.php exists in the phpCollab web root directory
    Affected if The file general/login.php exists and contains code that processes SSL_CLIENT_CERT environment variable
  3. Check if SSL/TLS is enabled
    Inspect server configuration to determine if the web server is configured to request and process client SSL certificates (SSLVerifyClient directive in Apache, or equivalent in other servers)
    Affected if SSL with client certificate verification is enabled on the server serving phpCollab
  4. Inspect login.php for unsafe environment variable usage
    Examine the general/login.php source code for usage of $_SERVER['SSL_CLIENT_CERT'] or getenv('SSL_CLIENT_CERT') in shell command execution functions such as exec(), system(), shell_exec(), or passthru() without proper sanitization
    Affected if Code in general/login.php uses SSL_CLIENT_CERT environment variable in unsanitized shell commands
  5. Confirm network accessibility
    Verify the phpCollab application is accessible over network (HTTP/HTTPS) and general/login.php is reachable without authentication
    Affected if The phpCollab login page is accessible remotely without authentication

User is affected if phpCollab version 2.5 or earlier is installed, the server uses SSL with client certificate authentication, and general/login.php contains unsanitized SSL_CLIENT_CERT variable in shell command execution.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2.5
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to a patched version of phpCollab beyond 2.5 rc3, or implement proper input sanitization/validation on the SSL_CLIENT_CERT environment variable before using it in any shell command context.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Latest stable Phpcollab release (version > 2.5)

  1. 1. Verify current Phpcollab installation version by checking the version file or footer in the web interface
  2. 2. Obtain the latest stable release of Phpcollab from the official project website or distribution repository
  3. 3. Backup the existing database and all configuration files before proceeding
  4. 4. Replace the existing Phpcollab installation files with the new version files
  5. 5. Restore the configuration files from the backup
  6. 6. Verify that the general/login.php file has been updated and no longer uses unsanitized SSL_CLIENT_CERT environment variable in system calls
  7. 7. Test authentication functionality to ensure the application works correctly after upgrade
  8. 8. Review application logs for any errors
Caveat Minor compatibility issues possible if custom modifications exist; review migration notes for the specific version

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Phpcollab Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.

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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-2008-4304 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data