CVE-2018-18572
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 · uneditedosCommerce 2.3.4.1 has an incomplete '.htaccess' for blacklist filtering in the "product" page. Because of this filter, script files with certain PHP-related extensions (such as .phtml and .php5) didn't execute in the application. But this filter didn't prevent the '.pht' extension. Thus, remote authenticated administrators can upload '.pht' files for arbitrary PHP code execution via a /catalog/admin/categories.php?cPath=&action=new_product URI.
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 confidenceosCommerce 2.3.4.1 has an incomplete .htaccess blacklist filter in the product page that blocks certain PHP-related extensions (.phtml, .php5) from execution but fails to block the .pht extension. This allows remote authenticated administrators to upload .pht files containing arbitrary PHP code via the /catalog/admin/categories.php upload functionality, achieving remote code execution.
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= 2.3.4.1CVSS 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
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm osCommerce versionLocate the version file in your osCommerce installation (typically in the admin directory or a version.php file) and verify the installed version equals 2.3.4.1Affected if The installed version is exactly 2.3.4.1
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Check if admin upload functionality existsVerify that the /catalog/admin/categories.php file exists and is accessible on your web serverAffected if The categories.php upload file is present and reachable via the web
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Locate the .htaccess blacklistFind the .htaccess file in the product upload directories (typically in /catalog/images/ or /catalog/product_image/ paths) and examine its blacklist rules for blocked PHP extensionsAffected if The .htaccess file exists and contains a blacklist but does NOT include .pht in the list of blocked extensions (only .phtml and .php5 are blocked)
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Verify administrator access to upload featureConfirm that the upload functionality in categories.php is accessible to authenticated administrators with file upload privilegesAffected if The file upload feature is accessible to authenticated admin users
You are affected if you are running osCommerce 2.3.4.1 with the .htaccess blacklist in place but .pht extension is not blocked, and your administrators have access to the file upload feature in categories.php.
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 dataUpdate the .htaccess blacklist to include .pht and other potentially dangerous PHP variants, or preferably migrate to a whitelist-based approach for allowed file types. Consider also disabling file upload functionality for administrators if not essential.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 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 $2,752.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2018-18572 — 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-2018-18572 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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- 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
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