dbcve.org
PhpfilemanagerApplication · Dulldusk

CVE-2023-53894

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-12-16
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
Public exploit 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
phpfm 1.7.9 contains an authentication bypass vulnerability that allows attackers to log in by exploiting loose type comparison in password hash validation. Attackers can craft specific password hashes beginning with 0e or 00e to bypass authentication and upload malicious PHP files to the server.

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

phpfm 1.7.9 uses PHP's loose type comparison (==) when validating password hashes, allowing authentication bypass when password hashes are crafted to begin with '0e' or '00e'. These hash values are interpreted as numeric zero in loose comparisons, bypassing authentication. Attackers can then upload malicious PHP files.

MitigationReplace loose type comparisons (==) with strict comparisons (===) in password validation logic, or migrate to PHP's password_verify() function which returns boolean false rather than a comparable string.

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
PhpfilemanagerApplication
Affected:= 1.7.9

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:3.1/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. Check phpfilemanager version
    Locate the version identifier in the phpfilemanager installation (typically in a version file, header comment, or about page) and compare it to 1.7.9
    Affected if version is exactly 1.7.9
  2. Locate password validation logic
    Search the source code for the password validation or login function - look for comparisons involving password hashes (often in auth.php, login.php, or similar)
    Affected if found and uses == instead of === for password comparison
  3. Verify comparison operator type
    Examine the password hash comparison code - check if it uses loose comparison (==) which treats '0e...' strings as numeric zero
    Affected if uses == (loose comparison) for password hash validation
  4. Check for numeric hash vulnerability
    If password hashes are stored or configurable in the system, verify they do not begin with '0e' or '00e' which would evaluate to zero in loose comparisons
    Affected if any stored password hash begins with '0e' or '00e'

You are affected if you are running phpfilemanager version 1.7.9 AND the password validation uses loose comparison (==) instead of strict comparison (===).

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

Replace loose type comparisons (==) with strict comparisons (===) in password validation logic, or migrate to PHP's password_verify() function which returns boolean false rather than a comparable string.

Recommended fix High confidence

phpfilemanager latest version (check GitHub releases for post-1.7.9 release)

  1. 1. Check current version of phpfilemanager by examining the version.php file or the admin interface
  2. 2. Backup the entire phpfilemanager installation directory and database if applicable
  3. 3. Download the latest version of phpfilemanager from the official repository at https://github.com/jfcox/PhpFileManager or the official website
  4. 4. Replace the existing installation files with the new version files
  5. 5. Verify that the new version uses strict comparison (===) for password hash validation instead of loose comparison (==)
  6. 6. Test authentication functionality to ensure the bypass vulnerability is remediated
  7. 7. Change all administrator passwords as a precaution, ensuring new passwords use strong hashing algorithms
  8. 8. Monitor access logs for any suspicious authentication attempts that may indicate exploitation attempts
Caveat Minor - review release notes for any configuration changes or deprecations in newer versions

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

Fix this in Phpfilemanager Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2023-53894 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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