CVE-2014-9624
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 · uneditedCAPTCHA bypass vulnerability in MantisBT before 1.2.19.
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 confidenceCAPTCHA bypass vulnerability in MantisBT before version 1.2.19 allows remote attackers to circumvent CAPTCHA protections, potentially enabling automated attacks such as brute force login attempts or spam submission.
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<= 1.2.18CVSS 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
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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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Check MantisBT version numberLog in as administrator and navigate to the 'About' page (typically at /about_page.php) or check the footer of any admin page for the version number. Alternatively, inspect the file 'core.php' in the MantisBT root directory where the version constant is defined.Affected if The installed version is 1.2.18 or earlier (any version <= 1.2.18)
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Verify CAPTCHA protection is enabledLog in as administrator and navigate to 'Manage' > 'Manage Configuration' > 'signup_page.php' or 'login_page.php' settings. Check if CAPTCHA is turned on in the security settings.Affected if CAPTCHA is enabled and the MantisBT version is 1.2.18 or earlier
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Inspect CAPTCHA validation logicExamine the file 'core/captcha_api.php' in the MantisBT installation directory. Look for the validation function that checks CAPTCHA input against stored values.Affected if The CAPTCHA validation function in the code does not properly regenerate or invalidate the CAPTCHA string after each validation attempt, allowing reuse of the same CAPTCHA code
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Check for CAPTCHA session handlingReview the CAPTCHA implementation in 'core/captcha_api.php' to see how CAPTCHA codes are stored in the session and whether they are cleared after failed attempts.Affected if CAPTCHA codes are not invalidated after use, allowing attackers to reuse the same code multiple times
The environment is affected if MantisBT version is 1.2.18 or earlier and CAPTCHA functionality is enabled in the configuration.
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 1.2.19 or later to obtain the patched CAPTCHA implementation.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 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-2014-9624 — 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-2014-9624 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