CVE-2008-4688
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 · uneditedcore/string_api.php in Mantis before 1.1.3 does not check the privileges of the viewer before composing a link with issue data in the source anchor, which allows remote attackers to discover an issue's title and status via a request with a modified issue number.
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 confidenceMantixBT before 1.1.3 fails to enforce access controls in core/string_api.php, allowing unauthenticated or unauthorized users to craft requests with modified issue numbers to disclosure sensitive issue titles and statuses through link href attributes.
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<= 1.1.3= 0.19.3= 0.19.4= 1.0.1= 1.0.2= 1.0.3= 1.0.4= 1.0.5= 1.0.6= 1.0.7= 1.0.8= 1.1.1CVSS 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 MantisBT versionLocate the version file or admin page - typically found in version.php, config.php, or the admin directory. Check the MantisBT root directory for a version file or database version record.Affected if The installed version matches 0.19.3, 0.19.4, 1.0.1 through 1.0.8, 1.1.1, or any version 1.1.3 or earlier.
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Locate core/string_api.phpNavigate to the MantisBT installation directory and verify the existence of core/string_api.php. This is the file where the access control failure occurs.Affected if The file core/string_api.php exists in the installation and the version is within the affected range.
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Confirm access control absence in string_api.phpExamine the content of core/string_api.php and look for functions that construct anchor tags with issue data. Verify whether authentication checks or permission validation occur before exposing issue titles and statuses in href attributes.Affected if The file contains code that outputs issue titles or statuses in link href attributes without performing user authentication or authorization checks beforehand.
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Test for unauthenticated issue data disclosureSubmit a request to the MantisBT application as an unauthenticated or low-privilege user, modifying the issue number parameter in the URL to access issue data that should be restricted. Observe whether sensitive issue titles or statuses are exposed in the response.Affected if Unauthenticated or unauthorized requests return sensitive issue information (titles, statuses) through link href attributes that should not be visible to that user level.
You are affected if your MantisBT installation version is 0.19.3, 0.19.4, 1.0.1-1.0.8, 1.1.1, or any version up to and including 1.1.3, and the core/string_api.php file lacks proper access control checks before exposing issue data in anchor tags.
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 MantisBT to version 1.1.3 or later; if upgrade not possible, implement access control checks in string_api.php before exposing issue data in anchor tags.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2008-4688 — 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-2008-4688 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