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Php Formmail GeneratorFramework / library · Jqueryform

CVE-2016-9492

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2018-07-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2016-12-17 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
The code generated by PHP FormMail Generator prior to 17 December 2016 is vulnerable to unrestricted upload of dangerous file types. In the generated form.lib.php file, upload file types are checked against a hard-coded list of dangerous extensions. This list does not include all variations of PHP files, which may lead to execution of the contained PHP code if the attacker can guess the uploaded filename. The form by default appends a short random string to the end of the filename.

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 confidence

The PHP FormMail Generator prior to December 2016 generates form.lib.php with an incomplete file extension allowlist for uploaded files. The hard-coded list of dangerous extensions does not block all PHP file variations (e.g., .php3, .php5, .phtml), allowing attackers to upload executable PHP code. Although the form appends a short random string to filenames, this is easily brute-forced given the limited character set.

MitigationRegenerate the form code using the updated generator (post-December 2016) or manually add all PHP extensions (.php, .php3, .php4, .php5, .phtml, .phar, etc.) to the blocked extensions list in form.lib.php.

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
Php Formmail GeneratorFramework / library
Affected:< 2016-12-17

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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. Locate form.lib.php in your deployment
    Search your web root for the file form.lib.php which is generated by the PHP FormMail Generator. This file handles file upload validation.
    Affected if The file exists and was generated prior to December 2016 using the affected generator tool.
  2. Identify the generator version or date
    Check the file header, comments, or any version metadata in form.lib.php for a generation timestamp. Alternatively, determine when the form was originally created using your version control history or file creation metadata.
    Affected if The file was generated before 2016-12-17 (the patch date).
  3. Inspect the blocked extensions list
    Open form.lib.php and locate the array or list that defines blocked/allowed file extensions for uploads. Look for extensions like php, php3, php4, php5, phtml, phar.
    Affected if The extension list exists but is incomplete - it does NOT include all PHP variants such as .php3, .php5, .phtml, .php4, .phar.
  4. Verify the upload feature is enabled
    Check your form configuration or the generated form HTML to confirm that file upload functionality is enabled (look for <input type="file"> or related upload handling code in form.lib.php).
    Affected if File uploads are enabled and form.lib.php is actively processing uploaded files.

You are affected if form.lib.php exists, was generated before December 2016, has an incomplete PHP extension blocklist, and file upload functionality is active.

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 2016-12-17 or later
Fixed in 2016-12-17
Interim mitigation

Regenerate the form code using the updated generator (post-December 2016) or manually add all PHP extensions (.php, .php3, .php4, .php5, .phtml, .phar, etc.) to the blocked extensions list in form.lib.php.

Recommended fix High confidence

Version released on or after December 17, 2016

  1. 1. Identify the current version of PHP FormMail Generator in use by checking the form.lib.php file or the generator's metadata
  2. 2. If the installation date or version is prior to December 17, 2016, download the latest version from the official source (phpformmail.com or equivalent)
  3. 3. Backup the existing form.lib.php file and any custom templates before upgrading
  4. 4. Replace the vulnerable form.lib.php with the new version released on or after 2016-12-17
  5. 5. Verify that the new version includes proper file type validation that blocks all PHP extensions (including pht, phtml, php3, php4, php5, php6, php7, phar)
  6. 6. Test the file upload functionality to ensure legitimate uploads still work

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

Fix this in Php Formmail Generator Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,770
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,832.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2016-9492 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