SQL Injection in phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq (CVE-2026-56738)
Summary
SQL injection in phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq (CVE-2026-56738). Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure. Exploitable via INSERT. Mitigation: upgrade to 4.1.6 or later.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
Summary
The StopWords::add() method in phpMyFAQ builds a SQL INSERT statement using sprintf() and inserts the user-supplied stop word value directly into the query string without calling the application's database escaping function on it. A sibling method, StopWords::update(), which modifies an existing stop word, correctly escapes the same kind of input. The omission is isolated to the add() (insert) code path.
An authenticated administrator who can reach the stop-word management feature can submit a crafted value as the "word" parameter that breaks out of the SQL string literal and injects arbitrary SQL, including statements to drop tables, exfiltrate data, or modify other rows in the database.
Affected Code
File: phpmyfaq/src/phpMyFAQ/StopWords.php
Method: add() (approx. lines 60–75 in the audited revision)
$sql = sprintf(
"INSERT INTO %s VALUES(%d, '%s', '%s')",
$this->getTableName(),
$id,
$this->configuration->getDb()->escape($this->language), // language IS escaped
$word // <-- $word is NOT escaped
);
$word is taken directly from the administrative form input (the new stop word to add) and concatenated into the SQL string via sprintf("'%s'", ...) with no call to the database driver's escape() method.
Contrast with the safe sibling method
Method: update() (line 82 in the audited revision)
$this->configuration->getDb()->…
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database NVD GitHub Advisory
Auto-generated summary
Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.
A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2026-56738 has been found in phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq.
Attackers can target a specific entry point like INSERT over the network to misuse the product.
Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure.
What to do: upgrade phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq to 4.1.6 or later.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq CVE-2026-56738" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2026-56738 (phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq) — CWE-89
Attack surface: INSERT / sprintf / UNION / UPDATE
Patched: 4.1.6 — apply immediately
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
SQL injection (CWE-89) exists in phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq. Attackers reach the vulnerable code path via INSERT.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq. Attack surface: INSERT / sprintf / UNION / UPDATE.
Severity: ?. Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure.
Update to 4.1.6.
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Run grep -r 'phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq' . against your dependency files (package-lock.json, requirements.txt, go.sum) to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
-
1Identify exposure identify
grep -r 'phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq' . | grep -v node_modulesリポジトリと本番環境の依存ファイル (package-lock.json / requirements.txt / go.sum / Gemfile.lock 等) で
phpmyfaq/phpmyfaqを grep し、稼働しているサービス・バージョンを把握する。 -
2Apply patch patch
Upgrade phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq to 4.1.6ステージング環境で 4.1.6 に上げて回帰テスト → 本番反映。回帰テストはアプリの主要ハッピーパスを含めること。
-
3Post-deployment verification verify
Confirm patched version is live in productionパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
Affected packages
References
- web security-advisories@github.com
- web security-advisories@github.com
- web nvd.nist.gov
- web github.com
- web github.com