dbcve.org
SQL InjectionWeakness · CWE-89

CVE-2026-46364

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-15
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click Patch available

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
phpMyFAQ before 4.1.2 contains an unauthenticated SQL injection vulnerability in BuiltinCaptcha::garbageCollector() and BuiltinCaptcha::saveCaptcha() methods that interpolate unsanitized User-Agent headers into DELETE and INSERT queries. Unauthenticated attackers can exploit the public GET /api/captcha endpoint by crafting malicious User-Agent headers to perform time-based blind SQL injection, extracting sensitive data including user credentials, admin tokens, and SMTP credentials from the database.

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

phpMyFAQ before 4.1.2 has an unauthenticated SQL injection in the BuiltinCaptcha class. The garbageCollector() and saveCaptcha() methods directly interpolate the User-Agent HTTP header into DELETE and INSERT queries without sanitization or parameterization. Attackers exploit the public /api/captcha endpoint using crafted User-Agent headers to perform time-based blind SQL injection, extracting sensitive data like user credentials, admin tokens, and SMTP credentials.

MitigationUpgrade phpMyFAQ to version 4.1.2 or later which contains the patch. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, implement input sanitization and parameterized queries for User-Agent handling in the affected captcha methods as a temporary mitigation.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

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. Identify phpMyFAQ version
    Check the version.php file in the phpMyFAQ root directory, or log into the admin dashboard and view the system information page. Common location: /path/to/phpmyfaq/version.php or through Admin > Configuration > System > Version
    Affected if The installed version is earlier than 4.1.2 (e.g., 4.1.0, 4.0.x, 3.x.x series)
  2. Confirm BuiltinCaptcha is enabled
    Log into phpMyFAQ admin panel and navigate to Configuration > Security > Captcha. Verify that 'BuiltinCaptcha' or the default built-in captcha system is selected as the active captcha provider
    Affected if BuiltinCaptcha is selected as the active captcha solution (other providers like reCAPTCHA would not be affected by this specific vulnerability)
  3. Check if /api/captcha endpoint is accessible
    Send an HTTP request to the /api/captcha endpoint on your phpMyFAQ server. Example: curl -I http://yourserver.com/api/captcha -H 'User-Agent: Test'
    Affected if The endpoint responds with HTTP 200 or 403 (any response indicating the endpoint exists and is reachable)
  4. Inspect BuiltinCaptcha source code
    Locate the BuiltinCaptcha class file in your phpMyFAQ installation, typically in src/phpMyFAQ/Captcha/BuiltinCaptcha.php or similar path. Examine the garbageCollector() and saveCaptcha() methods for direct User-Agent interpolation
    Affected if The code shows direct insertion of $_SERVER['USER_AGENT'] or similar into SQL queries without using prepared statements or parameter binding

Your environment is affected if phpMyFAQ version is before 4.1.2 AND BuiltinCaptcha is the active captcha provider AND the /api/captcha endpoint is publicly accessible.

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
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch github.com →
Interim mitigation

Upgrade phpMyFAQ to version 4.1.2 or later which contains the patch. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, implement input sanitization and parameterized queries for User-Agent handling in the affected captcha methods as a temporary mitigation.

Recommended fix High confidence

phpMyFAQ 4.1.2 or later

  1. 1. Identify the current phpMyFAQ installation version by checking the version file or admin dashboard.
  2. 2. Confirm the installation is running a version prior to 4.1.2.
  3. 3. Create a full backup of the database and application files before proceeding with the upgrade.
  4. 4. Download phpMyFAQ version 4.1.2 or the latest stable release from the official repository at https://www.phpmyfaq.de/.
  5. 5. Follow the official upgrade instructions to replace the application files while preserving configuration and data.
  6. 6. After upgrading, verify that the /api/captcha endpoint no longer accepts unsanitized User-Agent headers.
  7. 7. Test that the BuiltinCaptcha::garbageCollector() and BuiltinCaptcha::saveCaptcha() methods properly sanitize or parameterize the User-Agent input.
  8. 8. Confirm the application functions normally and monitor logs for any suspicious SQL injection attempts.

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
Get the patch applied

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

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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-2026-46364 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