#VU44781 Cryptographic issues in PHP - CVE-2011-3189

Vulnerability identifier: #VU44781

Vulnerability risk: Medium

CVSSv4.0: 2.7 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Green]

CVE-ID: CVE-2011-3189

CWE-ID: CWE-310

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
PHP
Universal components / Libraries / Scripting languages

Vendor: PHP Group

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote non-authenticated attacker to gain access to sensitive information.

The crypt function in PHP 5.3.7, when the MD5 hash type is used, returns the value of the salt argument instead of the hashed string, which might allow remote attackers to bypass authentication via an arbitrary password, a different vulnerability than CVE-2011-2483.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

PHP: 5.3.7

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External links
https://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2012/Feb/msg00000.html
https://osvdb.org/74726
https://secunia.com/advisories/45678
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT5130
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/08/23/4
https://www.php.net/archive/2011.php#id2011-08-23-1
https://www.php.net/ChangeLog-5.php#5.3.8
https://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=380261
https://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=55439
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/69429

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.