Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessAuthenticate as low-privilege client
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DeliveryOpen Client Settings tab
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ExploitInject template syntax in page_titles
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ExecutionServer evaluates payload in template engine
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ImpactLimited data disclosure or manipulation
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V1 - Encoding and Sanitization Template injection prevention
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| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires an authenticated account with sufficient privilege to access the Client Settings component of Form Tools (PR:L) and reach the updateClientSettingsTab code path; the attacker then supplies template-engine metacharacters in the page_titles argument. Affected: Form Tools up to and including version 3.1.1. Limiting factors: the attacker must already have valid (low-privilege) credentials/session, and the vendor-assigned impact is capped at Low across confidentiality, integrity, and availability, implying the template evaluation context may be restricted rather than permitting unrestricted code execution. No special non-default configuration is named, but a template engine processing the affected setting must be in use. No patched version is available, as the project has not responded. |
| Impact | Real-world risk is modest-to-low despite the SSTI (CWE-1336) classification. The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L) indicates remote, low-complexity exploitation but requires low-level authentication (PR:L - i.e. an existing client/user able to reach the Client Settings tab) and yields only limited confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact, scoring 5.3 (Medium). Notably, the vector carries E:P (Proof-of-Concept exploit maturity), consistent with the publicly disclosed exploit write-up. There is no EPSS score and no CISA KEV listing in the provided data, so there is no evidence of active or widespread exploitation - exploitation status is 'publicly available exploit code exists' only. A tension worth flagging: CWE-1336 (template-engine injection) frequently enables full RCE and thus would often warrant High/Critical impact, yet VulDB (the sole reporting source) rates every impact metric only Low, suggesting the injection is constrained (limited sink or sandboxed template context) rather than a full unrestricted SSTI-to-RCE - this impact ceiling should be independently verified against the public PoC, since if it is a genuine unrestricted SSTI the real severity could be materially higher than 5.3. The vendor has not responded to the issue report, so no patch is confirmed available. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An authenticated low-privilege Form Tools user navigates to the Client Settings tab and submits a crafted value in the page_titles argument containing template-engine syntax, which is passed unsanitized into Clients::updateClientSettingsTab and evaluated by the template engine. A public PoC/exploit write-up exists (hosted on GitHub by researcher 'wawyw'), lowering the effort to reproduce. Depending on how constrained the template context is, the attacker can disclose or manipulate limited server-side data, with the vendor-rated impact capped at Low across CIA. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 01, 2026
Server-side template injection (SSTI) in formtools.org Form Tools up to and including version 3.1.1 allows an authenticated low-privilege user to inject template-engine metacharacters via the page_titles argument in Clients::updateClientSettingsTab, potentially causing limited information disclosure and modification within the application. Publicly available exploit code exists, but exploitation requires a valid low-privilege account and the assessed impact is capped at Low for confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The vendor was notified early through a GitHub issue but has not responded, and no patched version has been released.
RemediationAI
No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Until a fix is published, administrators should restrict access to the Client Settings functionality to only fully trusted, high-privilege accounts, minimizing the number of users who can reach the Clients::updateClientSettingsTab code path (trade-off: this may disrupt normal client management workflows). If source code modification is possible, validate or sanitize the page_titles parameter to reject template-engine metacharacters such as {{ }}, {%%}, or ${ } before processing. If the template engine is not essential for the Client Settings feature, disable template evaluation for that specific setting to eliminate the vulnerability entirely. Alternatively, deploy a web application firewall rule to block requests containing template syntax in the page_titles parameter, accepting the risk of false positives or bypasses. Monitor for anomalous changes to client settings and review logs for template-related injection attempts. Track the GitHub issue at https://github.com/formtools/core/issues/956 for an eventual patch, and apply it promptly once released. The public exploit at https://github.com/wawyw/cve_report/blob/main/formtools_1.md can be used to verify the effectiveness of mitigations.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
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Technical ContextAI · show details
The vulnerability is an instance of CWE-1336 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements Used in a Template Engine), commonly known as server-side template injection (SSTI). Form Tools is a PHP/MySQL-based web application for form processing, and the affected code resides in global/code/Clients.class.php within the Client Settings component. The updateClientSettingsTab function processes the user-supplied page_titles parameter without adequately neutralizing template-engine syntax, allowing template expressions to be evaluated in the server-side context. The affected product is identified by CPE cpe:2.3:a:formtools.org:form_tools:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* which covers all versions up to and including 3.1.1. According to the CVSS 4.0 vector (PR:L) and the independent assessment (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L), the attacker must be authenticated with sufficient privilege to access the Client Settings functionality. The independent assessment notes that the template evaluation context may be restricted rather than permitting unrestricted code execution, which is consistent with the Low impact ratings across confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:P
Remote network vector with low complexity, but Client Settings access needs a low-privilege account (PR:L); impact kept Low per the reporter's constrained-injection assessment, no scope change.
Primary rating from Vendor (VulDB).
CVSS VectorVendor: VulDB
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionCVE.org
A security vulnerability has been detected in formtools.org Form Tools up to 3.1.1. This vulnerability affects the function Clients::updateClientSettingsTab of the file global/code/Clients.class.php of the component Client Settings. The manipulation of the argument page_titles leads to improper neutralization of special elements used in a template engine. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. The exploit has been disclosed publicly and may be used. The project was informed of the problem early through an issue report but has not responded yet.
Threat Intelligence Overview
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.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.
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EUVD-2026-90497
GHSA-r99g-f87j-9mpc
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
VulDB
Exploit-DB