CVE-2026-71287
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 · uneditedCacti's sanitize_sql_column (lib/functions.php) sanitizes user-supplied ORDER BY column names using the regex . Because this allowlist retains letters, digits, underscore, parentheses, and dot (intended to support expressions like COUNT(id) and table.column), a payload such as passes through completely unmodified.
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 · moderate confidenceCacti's sanitize_sql_column function in lib/functions.php uses an overly permissive allowlist regex to sanitize ORDER BY column names, retaining letters, digits, underscores, parentheses, and dots. This allows SQL injection payloads to pass through unmodified, enabling attackers to manipulate SQL queries via the ORDER BY parameter.
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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/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 Cacti installation existsLocate the Cacti web application directory, typically at /var/www/html/cacti or C:\inetpub\wwwroot\cacti on Windows. Verify the presence of the main Cacti files such as index.php and the lib/ directory.Affected if Cacti is not installed on this system, the CVE does not apply.
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Identify installed Cacti versionOpen the file include/global.php or check the version displayed in the Cacti web interface footer. Alternatively, look for a VERSION file in the Cacti root directory.Affected if The installed version predates the fix for CVE-2026-71287 and the allowlist regex remains permissive.
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Locate the sanitize_sql_column functionOpen lib/functions.php in a text editor and search for the function definition 'function sanitize_sql_column'. Examine the allowlist regex pattern used within the function.Affected if The regex pattern contains characters such as parentheses () or dots . within the allowed character class, indicating an overly permissive allowlist.
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Verify ORDER BY parameter handling uses sanitize_sql_columnSearch the Cacti source code for calls to sanitize_sql_column that process ORDER BY parameters. Look for code patterns where user-supplied ORDER BY input flows through this function.Affected if The application uses sanitize_sql_column to sanitize ORDER BY column names and the regex is permissive.
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Check if remote access to ORDER BY functionality is enabledDetermine whether the Cacti web interface is accessible to untrusted users or if API endpoints that accept ORDER BY parameters are exposed.Affected if The vulnerable code path is reachable by unauthenticated or low-privilege users who can supply ORDER BY parameters.
The environment is affected if Cacti is installed, the version contains the vulnerable sanitize_sql_column function with a permissive allowlist regex, and ORDER BY parameters can be supplied by users to reach this function.
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 dataTighten the allowlist regex in sanitize_sql_column to restrict special characters, or implement additional input validation/sanitization layers to prevent SQL injection while preserving support for legitimate expressions.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 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 $3,040.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-71287 — 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-2026-71287 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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