CVE-2013-7235
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) before 1.1.19 and 2.x before 2.0.6 allows remote attackers to impersonate arbitrary users via multiple space characters characters.
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 confidenceSimple Machines Forum (SMF) before versions 1.1.19 and 2.0.6 contains a username handling flaw where multiple space characters in a username are processed incorrectly during authentication. This allows remote attackers to register usernames that appear identical to existing privileged users (by padding with spaces), enabling impersonation and unauthorized access to arbitrary accounts.
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<= 1.1.9= 1.0= 1.0.1= 1.0.2= 1.0.3= 1.0.4= 1.0.5= 1.0.6= 1.0.7= 1.0.8= 1.0.9= 1.0.10CVSS 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.
-
Identify SMF versionLog into the SMF admin panel and navigate to Admin > Server Settings > General, or check the version.php file in the forum root directory for the $forum_version variableAffected if The installed version is 1.0.x (any version) or 1.1.x through 1.1.9, as these ranges contain the vulnerable code
-
Query database for usernames with abnormal spacingRun a SQL query on the members table (typically smf_members or similar) to find usernames containing multiple consecutive spaces, leading spaces, or trailing spaces using: SELECT member_name FROM {db_prefix}members WHERE member_name LIKE '% %' OR member_name LIKE ' %' OR member_name LIKE '% 'Affected if Any user accounts are returned by this query, indicating the vulnerability allowed such registrations
-
Compare username lengthsExecute a SQL query to identify duplicate member names when trimmed: SELECT TRIM(member_name), COUNT(*) FROM {db_prefix}members GROUP BY TRIM(member_name) HAVING COUNT(*) > 1Affected if This query returns any results, showing multiple accounts with the same name when whitespace is ignored - a sign of successful exploitation
-
Review recent account registrationsCheck the members table for accounts created around the time of the vulnerability disclosure (2013) or during any suspicious period, looking for names with space charactersAffected if Newly registered accounts contain space characters in the username field
You are affected if your SMF version is 1.0.x or 1.1.x through 1.1.9, or if your user database contains accounts with usernames containing leading, trailing, or multiple internal spaces.
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 SMF to version 1.1.19 or 2.0.6 or later to patch the username validation flaw. Review user accounts for usernames containing unusual spacing patterns after patching.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 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 $4,128.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-7235 — 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-2013-7235 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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