CVE-2018-16975: Elefant/cms Elefant CMS PHP Code Execution Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-x2w2-qgv6-8xrm
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-94
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2018-16975 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) elefant cms php code execution vulnerability (CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')) affecting Elefant/cms libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves elefant cms php code execution vulnerability. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 2.0.7.

CVE-2018-16975 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2018-16975
GHSA Identifier GHSA-x2w2-qgv6-8xrm
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
Affected Product Elefant/cms
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2018-16975

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Elefant/cms dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

elefant/cms fixed: 2.0.7 
Upgrade elefant/cms to 2.0.7
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for elefant/cms

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2018-16975, inspect your project dependencies for Elefant/cms:

inspect dependencies for elefant/cms

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Elefant/cms in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 2.0.7), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection'), where the product constructs all or part of a code segment using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the syntax or behavior of the intended code segment. In Elefant/cms, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

An issue was discovered in Elefant CMS before 2.0.7. There is a PHP Code Execution Vulnerability in `/designer/add/stylesheet.php` by using a `.php` extension in the New Stylesheet Name field in conjunction with `<?php` content, because of insufficient input validation in `apps/designer/handlers/csspreview.php`.

CVE-2018-16975 Affected Elefant/cms Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
2.0.7
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
elefant/cms
 Packagist
< 2.0.7
2.0.7

References

NVD — CVE-2018-16975 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-16975
Elefant/cms Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/jbroadway/elefant/issues/286
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/jbroadway/elefant/commit/0795ab57c7ffa53ff4af57e229f6d9680fa54a21
Elefant/cms Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/jbroadway/elefant
Elefant/cms Release RELEASE
https://github.com/jbroadway/elefant/releases/tag/elefant_2_0_7_stable

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2018-16975?
CVE-2018-16975 is a security vulnerability in Elefant/cms involving Elefant CMS PHP Code Execution Vulnerability under CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection').
Which Elefant/cms versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 2.0.7 across affected packages: elefant/cms.
What version fixes CVE-2018-16975?
Upgrading to 2.0.7 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is elefant/cms affected?
Yes, elefant/cms is affected in releases prior to 2.0.7. Upgrade your dependency to 2.0.7 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2018-16975?
CVE-2018-16975 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2018-16975?
CVE-2018-16975 is classified under CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') (The product constructs all or part of a code segment using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the syntax or behavior of the intended code segment.).
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2018-16975?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for elefant/cms'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-x2w2-qgv6-8xrm",
  "modified" : "2024-04-23T22:56:57Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-13T01:19:19Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2018-16975" ],
  "summary" : "Elefant CMS PHP Code Execution Vulnerability",
  "details" : "An issue was discovered in Elefant CMS before 2.0.7. There is a PHP Code Execution Vulnerability in `/designer/add/stylesheet.php` by using a `.php` extension in the New Stylesheet Name field in conjunction with `<?php` content, because of insufficient input validation in `apps/designer/handlers/csspreview.php`.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "elefant/cms"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.0.7"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-16975"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/jbroadway/elefant/issues/286"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/jbroadway/elefant/commit/0795ab57c7ffa53ff4af57e229f6d9680fa54a21"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/jbroadway/elefant"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/jbroadway/elefant/releases/tag/elefant_2_0_7_stable"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-94" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-04-23T22:56:57Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2018-09-12T21:29:00Z"
  }
}