Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessIdentify exposed pH7Builder API endpoint
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DeliveryCraft request with Host: localhost and private_api_key=dev772277
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ExploitBypass API access check in Tool.class.php
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ExecutionQuery member records via default allowed URL
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ImpactExfiltrate emails, IPs, phones, bank fields
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A07:2025 - Authentication Failures
ASVS 5.0
V6 - Authentication Credential externalization
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Persistence, Credential Access The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires that the pH7Builder API (framework/Api/Tool.class.php) be network-reachable and that the application's 'default allowed URL' be in place - which is the shipped default, since the authorization relies on a hard-coded key (dev772277) baked into the code. The attacker must supply a forged 'Host: localhost' header together with that static key, so the only real prerequisite is reaching the API endpoint over the network; no authentication, user interaction, or non-default configuration is needed (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N). The practical limiting factors are therefore deployment-dependent: the API endpoint must be exposed to the attacker, the installation must be a version before 18.6.0 that still contains the hard-coded key, and any upstream proxy or WAF that normalizes or validates the Host header could blunt the spoofing step. |
| Impact | This is a genuine, high-priority confidentiality exposure that the raw signals understate rather than inflate. The vendor-provided CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H) describes a network-reachable, low-complexity, unauthenticated flaw with high impact to the vulnerable system's confidentiality, scoring 8.7 (High) - and the CWE-798 (hard-coded credentials) classification plus the concrete description align cleanly with that vector, so there is no contradiction between the metrics and the narrative. The attack is trivially repeatable because the bypass relies on a static, publicly-known key (dev772277) combined with a forgeable Host header, which is exactly the kind of deterministic condition that favors reliable exploitation. However, EPSS is not provided, the CVE is NOT in CISA KEV, and no public proof-of-concept is referenced, so there is no evidence of active exploitation - the elevated risk is driven by ease of exploitation and sensitivity of exposed data (emails, IPs, phone numbers, bank account fields), not by observed attacks. The one signal tempering real-world urgency is deployment footprint: pH7Builder is a niche open-source dating CMS, so this is a serious issue for the installed base but not a mass-exploitation candidate across typical enterprise environments. Net: a real priority for anyone running pH7Builder, but a low-prevalence product rather than an internet-wide emergency. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | A remote attacker sends an HTTP request to the pH7Builder API endpoint with a spoofed 'Host: localhost' header, the hard-coded private_api_key=dev772277, and the default allowed URL, causing the Tool.class.php access check to treat the request as a trusted local/internal caller. With the bypass successful, the attacker queries member records and harvests emails, IP addresses, phone numbers, and bank account fields without any credentials. No public exploit is identified at time of analysis, but the low-complexity, unauthenticated network vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N) makes reliable reproduction straightforward once the static key is known. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 11, 2026
pH7Builder (pH7 Social Dating CMS) versions before 18.6.0 leak sensitive member records - email addresses, IP addresses, phone numbers, and bank account fields - to unauthenticated remote attackers who bypass the API's access checks. The bypass works because Tool.class.php ships a hard-coded API key (private_api_key=dev772277) and the authorization logic trusts the client-supplied Host header, so an attacker sending 'Host: localhost' along with that static key and the shipped default allowed URL is treated as authorized. No public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis and there is no KEV entry, but the independent assessment scores the issue CVSS v3.1 7.5 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N, C:H/I:N/A:N), a high-priority confidentiality-only exposure, with the vendor shipping 18.6.0 as the fix.
RemediationAI
Upgrade to pH7Builder 18.6.0 or later, which is the version boundary at which the hard-coded key bypass is fixed (vendor guidance: https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/ph7builder-before-18.6.0-hard-coded-api-key-bypass-via-host-header; fix commit: https://github.com/pH7Software/pH7-Social-Dating-CMS/commit/cfe1e0c418946b868db8c399d0cf6b122552efd2). If immediate upgrade is not possible, the most effective compensating control is to block external network access to the pH7Builder API endpoint (the path served by framework/Api/Tool.class.php) at the reverse proxy, firewall, or web-server ACL - the trade-off being that any legitimate third-party integration using that API stops working until the upgrade is applied. Second, add a front-end rule that rejects or rewrites requests whose Host header does not match the canonical server name (explicitly rejecting 'Host: localhost' and other loopback/spoofed values) - this defeats the spoofing half of the bypass, but multi-domain or internal-alias deployments may need an allow-list to avoid breaking legitimate hosts. Third, if the code can be edited before the upgrade, replace the compiled-in dev772277 key with a per-installation random secret (and remove the key from version control); this is a code change and may be overwritten by a subsequent patching routine. Finally, because the exposed data set includes bank account fields, treat installations running pre-18.6.0 as potentially breached, rotate any credentials reachable from exposed records, and review API access logs for requests containing a loopback Host header alongside private_api_key parameters. No vendor-released patch version other than 18.6.0 is identified in the input data, and no public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
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
The root cause is CWE-798 (Use of Hard-coded Credentials) inside pH7Builder's PHP framework API layer, specifically _protected/framework/Api/Tool.class.php (lines 25-48 in the referenced v18.5.1 source). Rather than validating a per-installation secret, the API grants access when the request presents the compiled-in key dev772277 and appears to originate from an allowed URL - a check derived from the HTTP Host header, which is fully attacker-controlled in a normal request. An attacker therefore only needs to craft a request for a valid API endpoint with 'Host: localhost' and the static key to satisfy authorization, after which the API returns member records including emails, IP addresses, phone numbers, and bank account fields. Both the supplied CVSS v4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N, VC:H with no VI/VA/SC/SI/SA) and the independent v3.1 assessment (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N) agree the impact is unauthenticated, network-reachable information disclosure with no demonstrated integrity or availability effect - the breach is of data confidentiality, not code execution or data tampering.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Remote, low-complexity, unauthenticated bypass using a static key and forged Host header (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N); exposes sensitive member data so C:H, with no integrity or availability impact.
Primary rating from Vendor (vulncheck).
CVSS VectorVendor: vulncheck
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
pH7Builder (pH7 Social Dating CMS) before 18.6.0 contains a hard-coded API key vulnerability in Tool.class.php that allows unauthenticated attackers to bypass API access checks by spoofing the Host header. Attackers can send Host: localhost with private_api_key=dev772277 and the default allowed URL to retrieve member emails, IP addresses, phone numbers, and bank account fields.
Executive ViewAI
pH7Builder, the social/dating CMS, leaves member records - including bank account fields, phone numbers, email addresses and IP addresses - readable by any unauthenticated attacker on the internet who manipulates the API's authorization checks using a hard-coded key shipped in the product. The affected population is the dating platform's membership base, and because financial identifiers are among the exposed fields, the exposure carries data-protection notification obligations, identity-theft risk and direct reputational damage for the operator. Leadership should treat this as a data-breach exposure rather than a routine software bug, and should prioritise inventory of internet-facing instances before anything else.
No vendor patch is recorded in the supplied data. Interim mitigations: take affected instances offline or restrict them to trusted networks; block or reject external API access and any request with a client-supplied Host header not on a strict allow-list; remove the hard-coded private_api_key=dev772277 and the shipped default allowed-URL entry; rotate all associated keys and credentials; enable detailed API logging and monitoring for bulk record reads; and confirm with the vendor whether version 18.6.0 resolves the issue and can be applied.
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
Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.
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EUVD-2026-97068
GHSA-jfr6-f5qc-qp53
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Exploit-DB