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Html AjaxApplication · Pear

CVE-2017-5677

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2017-02-06
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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
PEAR HTML_AJAX 0.3.0 through 0.5.7 has a PHP Object Injection Vulnerability in the PHP Serializer. It allows remote code execution. In one viewpoint, the root cause is an incorrect regular expression.

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

PEAR HTML_AJAX versions 0.3.0 through 0.5.7 contains a PHP Object Injection vulnerability in its PHP Serializer component. The vulnerability stems from an incorrect regular expression that fails to properly sanitize/desanitize serialized PHP objects during deserialization, allowing remote attackers to inject malicious PHP objects leading to remote code execution.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched version of PEAR HTML_AJAX beyond 0.5.7 if available. If no patched version exists, implement input validation before deserialization or replace the vulnerable serializer with a safer alternative such as JSON-based serialization.

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
Html AjaxApplication
Affected:= 0.3.0= 0.3.1= 0.3.2= 0.3.3= 0.3.4= 0.4.0= 0.4.1= 0.5.0= 0.5.1= 0.5.2= 0.5.3= 0.5.4

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. Identify installed PEAR HTML_AJAX version
    Check the version file or package manager output. If using Composer, run 'composer show pear-pear.php.net/HTML_AJAX' or check your composer.lock file. If installed via PEAR, run 'pear info HTML_AJAX'. If manually installed, examine the main include file for the version constant.
    Affected if The installed version is 0.3.0, 0.3.1, 0.3.2, 0.3.3, 0.3.4, 0.4.0, 0.4.1, 0.5.0, 0.5.1, 0.5.2, 0.5.3, or 0.5.4.
  2. Locate the PHP Serializer component
    Search for files named Serializer.php, serializer.php, or files containing 'class HTML_AJAX_Serializer' within the HTML_AJAX library directory. Common paths include /HTML/AJAX/Serializer/ or similar vendor directories.
    Affected if The PHP Serializer class exists in the installation and is being loaded or included by the application.
  3. Identify deserialization usage in code
    Search your application codebase for calls to the serializer's unserialize or decode methods that process data from the HTML_AJAX library. Look for patterns like '$serializer->unserialize($data)', 'HTML_AJAX::unserialize()', or similar where $data originates from user input (GET, POST, cookies, or AJAX requests).
    Affected if User-supplied or external input is being passed to the HTML_AJAX unserialize method without prior validation.
  4. Check AJAX endpoint exposure
    Examine how the HTML_AJAX server endpoint is configured. Look at the main PHP file handling AJAX requests (often server.php, ajax.php, or similar) and determine if the 'server' mode is enabled and accessible over the network.
    Affected if The HTML_AJAX server is exposed and accepts serialized PHP data from remote clients.

You are affected if PEAR HTML_AJAX version 0.3.0 through 0.5.7 is installed and your application deserializes untrusted data through the HTML_AJAX PHP Serializer component.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to a patched version of PEAR HTML_AJAX beyond 0.5.7 if available. If no patched version exists, implement input validation before deserialization or replace the vulnerable serializer with a safer alternative such as JSON-based serialization.

Recommended fix High confidence

latest stable version from pear.php.net (version > 0.5.7)

  1. 1. Identify all systems running PEAR HTML_AJAX versions 0.3.0 through 0.5.7
  2. 2. Consult your system's package manager or dependency lock file to confirm the exact version in use
  3. 3. Upgrade PEAR HTML_AJAX to the latest stable version available from the official PEAR channel (pear.php.net)
  4. 4. Verify the upgrade by checking the installed version: pear list HTML_AJAX or via composer if managed that way
  5. 5. Test application functionality to ensure the upgrade does not break existing features
  6. 6. Re-scan or re-test to confirm the vulnerability is no longer present
Caveat Review release notes for any breaking changes between your current version and the target version; minor version upgrades within the same major version typically have minimal breaking changes

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

Fix this in Html Ajax Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,130
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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-2017-5677 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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