Skip to main content

phpMyFAQ EUVDEUVD-2026-103319

| CVE-2026-111901 HIGH
Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (CWE-400)
2026-10-17 VulnCheck
8.7
CVSS 4.0 · Vendor: VulnCheck
View

Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Reach exposed phpMyFAQ API endpoint
  2. Delivery
    Send concurrent unauthenticated GET requests
  3. Exploit
    Force full database load into PHP memory
  4. Execution
    Exhaust CPU and memory resources
  5. Impact
    Crash server, denying service

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V2 - Validation and Business Logic Resource consumption limits
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Impact

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires a network-reachable phpMyFAQ 4.2.0-alpha instance with the unauthenticated faqs and search API endpoints accessible (their default unauthenticated state is the core enabling condition). The attacker must be able to issue many concurrent GET requests; effectiveness scales with the number of database records, since each request loads all records into PHP memory. Limiting factors: only the 4.2.0-alpha pre-release line before 4.2.0-beta is affected, so stable-release and patched (4.2.0-beta+) deployments are not exploitable; impact is confined to availability with no data exposure or code execution, and upstream rate-limiting, a WAF, or reverse-proxy connection throttling in front of the application would blunt the concurrent-request flood.

Impact

Signals align consistently toward a genuine but bounded availability risk. The vendor-supplied CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N) confirms a remotely reachable, low-complexity, unauthenticated attack path, and the impact profile is availability-only (VA:H; VC:N/VI:N), matching the CWE-400 uncontrolled resource consumption classification and the description's crash-the-server outcome. No EPSS score, CISA KEV listing, or SSVC decision record was provided in the input, and no public exploit is referenced, so exploitation-probability and automatability signals are absent rather than low - they are simply unavailable. There is no conflict between the CVSS vector and the description: both indicate unauthenticated network access to the faqs and search API endpoints with no special privileges. The practical priority is moderate: this is a denial-of-service issue with no confidentiality or integrity impact, affecting only pre-release 4.2.0-alpha builds, so it is a real but availability-scoped concern rather than a widespread remote-code-execution emergency. EPSS and KEV data being missing means the 8.7 score should not alone drive emergency patching absent evidence of active targeting.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker, without any credentials, scripts a client to issue many concurrent GET requests to the unauthenticated faqs and search API endpoints of an exposed phpMyFAQ 4.2.0-alpha instance. Each request forces the application to load and process every database record into PHP memory, and the parallel load exhausts CPU and memory until the server becomes unresponsive. No public proof-of-concept is referenced, but the attack requires only a basic HTTP flooding script.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available

Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.

Alert me

AnalysisAIv1 – Oct 17, 2026

Unauthenticated denial of service in phpMyFAQ 4.2.0-alpha allows remote attackers to exhaust server memory and CPU by sending concurrent GET requests to the faqs and search API endpoints, which load and process all database records into PHP memory. Only the 4.2.0-alpha pre-release line before 4.2.0-beta is affected; patched 4.2.0-beta+ and stable-release deployments are not exploitable, and impact is limited to availability with no data exposure or code execution. No public exploit has been identified at time of analysis and the CVE is not listed in CISA KEV.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch: 4.2.0-beta. Upgrade affected 4.2.0-alpha deployments to phpMyFAQ 4.2.0-beta or later, and validate against the GitHub advisory GHSA-m42f-6p37-2c79 and VulnCheck advisory https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/phpmyfaq-4.2.0-alpha-before-4.2.0-beta-unauthenticated-dos-via-api-pagination. If upgrading cannot be performed immediately, restrict or disable unauthenticated access to the faqs and search API endpoints, accepting that this may break public search and FAQ clients; alternatively place the application behind a reverse proxy or WAF configured to cap concurrent connections and rate-limit repeated GET requests to those endpoints, with the trade-off that aggressive throttling can affect legitimate users. Monitor PHP worker memory and CPU for resource spikes until the patch is applied.

Affected VersionsENISA

phpMyFAQ 4.2.0-alpha <4.2.0-beta

Affected Packages

euvd phpmyfaq fix: 4.2.0-beta

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

phpMyFAQ is a PHP-based open-source FAQ and knowledge-base application. CVE-2026-111901 is an uncontrolled resource consumption issue (CWE-400) in the unauthenticated faqs and search API endpoints of the 4.2.0-alpha pre-release. The endpoints materialize the full database result set into PHP memory per request rather than enforcing pagination, result-size limits, or request throttling; concurrent GET requests therefore multiply memory and CPU demand until PHP workers and host resources are exhausted. The CPE cpe:2.3:a:thorsten:phpmyfaq:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* identifies the Thorsten phpMyFAQ product, with the vulnerable range limited to 4.2.0-alpha before 4.2.0-beta. Both the CVSS:4.0 vector and the independent CVSS:3.1 assessment agree on network reachability, no privileges required (PR:N), no user interaction, and availability-only impact.

Know when Phpmyfaq gets its next vulnerability

  • Watch products and get an email when something new is published
  • Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

No credit card · 7-day full trial

Severity by source

Vendor (VulnCheck) PRIMARY 8.7 HIGH
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
vuln.today AI 7.5 HIGH

Unauthenticated remote requests to default API endpoints give AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N; impact is availability-only (A:H) with no confidentiality or integrity effect and no scope change.

3.1 AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Primary rating from Vendor (VulnCheck).

CVSS VectorVendor: VulnCheck

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Requirements
None
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Vulnerable system: Confidentiality
None
Vulnerable system: Integrity
None
Vulnerable system: Availability
High
Subsequent system: Confidentiality
None
Subsequent system: Integrity
None
Subsequent system: Availability
None

Lifecycle Timeline

2
Patch available
Oct 17, 2026 - 20:16 EUVD
CVE Published
Oct 17, 2026 - 18:46 cve.org
HIGH 8.7

DescriptionCVE.org

phpMyFAQ 4.2.0-alpha before 4.2.0-beta contains an uncontrolled resource consumption vulnerability in the unauthenticated faqs and search API endpoints. Attackers can send concurrent GET requests that load and process all database records into PHP memory, exhausting CPU and memory to crash the server.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

phpMyFAQ 4.2.0-alpha pre-release deployments are exposed to a remote availability attack that can exhaust server memory and CPU through concurrent FAQ/search requests, potentially taking the service offline. The issue affects only that pre-release line before 4.2.0-beta; stable deployments are not exposed, and there is no data-exposure or code-execution impact. Leadership should care because an internet-facing alpha instance could disrupt availability, but the blast radius is narrow and no public exploit identified at time of analysis.

Business Impact: Medium
Compensating Controls

No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim controls: restrict access to the faqs and search endpoints, enforce reverse-proxy/WAF rate limits and concurrency caps, cap PHP worker/memory resources, cache FAQ/search responses, monitor for memory/CPU exhaustion, and migrate affected 4.2.0-alpha pre-release instances to 4.2.0-beta or later/stable release when permitted.

Threat Intelligence Overview

Prevalence
Low
niche open-source PHP FAQ application; pre-release alpha only
Data Quality
4 sources
Confidence: Medium

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS N/A
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
Yes
Human Impact
Medium

Priority Score

44
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +44
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.

CVE-2025-59943 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Oct 03

Duplicate-email registration handling in phpMyFAQ 4.0.7 through 4.0.13 (and 4.0-nightly-2025-10-03 and earlier) lets una

CVE-2023-5865 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Oct 31

Insufficient Session Expiration in GitHub repository thorsten/phpmyfaq prior to 3.2.2. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8

CVE-2023-1886 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Apr 05

Authentication Bypass by Capture-replay in GitHub repository thorsten/phpmyfaq prior to 3.1.12. Rated critical severity

CVE-2023-1753 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Mar 31

Weak Password Requirements in GitHub repository thorsten/phpmyfaq prior to 3.1.12. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), t

CVE-2022-3754 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Oct 29

Weak Password Requirements in GitHub repository thorsten/phpmyfaq prior to 3.1.8. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), th

CVE-2026-46364 CRITICAL POC
9.3 May 15

Unauthenticated SQL injection in phpMyFAQ before 4.1.2 allows remote attackers to extract credentials, admin tokens, and

CVE-2017-15730 HIGH POC
8.8 Oct 22

In phpMyFAQ before 2.9.9, there is Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) in admin/stat.ratings.php. Rated high severity (CVS

CVE-2017-15808 HIGH POC
8.8 Oct 23

In phpMyFaq before 2.9.9, there is CSRF in admin/ajax.config.php. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is

CVE-2017-15735 HIGH POC
8.8 Oct 22

In phpMyFAQ before 2.9.9, there is Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) for modifying a glossary. Rated high severity (CVSS

CVE-2017-15734 HIGH POC
8.8 Oct 22

In phpMyFAQ before 2.9.9, there is Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) in admin/stat.main.php. Rated high severity (CVSS 8

CVE-2024-28107 HIGH POC
8.8 Mar 25

phpMyFAQ is an open source FAQ web application for PHP 8.1+ and MySQL, PostgreSQL and other databases. Rated high severi

CVE-2024-27299 HIGH POC
8.8 Mar 25

phpMyFAQ is an open source FAQ web application for PHP 8.1+ and MySQL, PostgreSQL and other databases. Rated high severi

This site uses cookies essential for authentication and security. No tracking or analytics cookies are used. Privacy Policy