GHSA-2grw-mc9r-822r is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) remote code execution vulnerability in phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq — see the affected versions and patch details below.
phpMyFAQ SQL injections at insertentry & saveentry
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-2grw-mc9r-822r.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-2grw-mc9r-822r plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 379,145 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
phpmyfaq/phpmyfaqReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Packagist packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Summary
A SQL injection vulnerability has been discovered in the insertentry & saveentry when modifying records due to improper escaping of the email address. This allows any authenticated user with the rights to add/edit FAQ news to exploit this vulnerability to exfiltrate data, take over accounts and in some cases, even achieve RCE.
PoC 1 - SQL Injection at insertentry:
-
Browse to “/admin/?action=editentry”, edit record and save. Intercept the POST request to "/admin/?action=insertentry" and modify the email and notes parameters in the body to the payloads below: a.
email=test'/*@email.comb.notes=*/,1,1,1,1,null,1);select+pg_sleep(5)-- -
Send the request and notice the
pg_sleep(5)command is executed with a time delay of 5 seconds in the response. This verifies that the SQL injection vulnerability exists.
PoC 2 - SQL Injection at saveentry
- Browse to “/admin/?action=editentry”, edit record and save. Intercept the POST request to "/admin/?action=saveentry" and modify the email and notes parameters in the body to the payloads below:
a.
email=test'/*@email.comb.*/,notes=(select+pg_sleep(5))-- - Send the request and notice the
pg_sleep(5)command is executed with a time delay of 5 seconds in the response. This verifies that the SQL injection vulnerability exists.
Impact
The SQL injection vulnerability discovered allows authenticated users with appropriate privileges to execute malicious SQL queries, potentially leading to data exfiltration, account takeover, and even remote code execution. Attackers can exploit the vulnerability to read sensitive data from the database, such as user credentials and system files, compromising the confidentiality and integrity of the system. Moreover, successful exploitation may enable attackers to gain unauthorized access to user accounts or execute arbitrary commands on the server, impacting both system administrators and end users.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq | ≥ 3.2.5&&< 3.2.6 | 3.2.6composer require phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq:^3.2.6 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq to 3.2.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-2grw-mc9r-822r is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-2grw-mc9r-822r can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-2grw-mc9r-822r. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-2grw-mc9r-822r in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-2grw-mc9r-822r across Packagist dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.