phpMyFAQ: Path Traversal - Arbitrary File Deletion in MediaBrowserController

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

8.7 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:H

EPSS

• CVE-2026-34728: 0.70% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 53.39 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary The MediaBrowserController::index() method handles file deletion for the media browser. When the fileRemove action is triggered, the user-supplied name parameter is concatenated with the base upload directory path without any path traversal validation. The FILTERSANITIZESPECIALCHARS filter only encodes HTML special characters (&, ', ", <, ) and characters with ASCII value < 32, and does not prevent directory traversal sequences like ../. Additionally, the endpoint does not validate CSRF tokens, making it exploitable via CSRF attacks. Details Affected File: phpmyfaq/src/phpMyFAQ/Controller/Administration/Api/MediaBrowserController.php Lines 43-66: Root Causes: 1. No path traversal prevention: FILTERSANITIZESPECIALCHARS does not remove or encode ../ sequences. It only encodes HTML special characters. 2. No CSRF protection: The endpoint does not call Token::verifyToken(). Compare with ImageController::upload() which validates CSRF tokens at line 48. 3. No basename() or…

Published by the source

1 Apr 2026, 22:30 UTC

Last modified by the source

6 Apr 2026, 17:18 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 14:39 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-38m8-xrfj-v38x

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-34728

Advisory: phpMyFAQ: Path Traversal - Arbitrary File Deletion in MediaBrowserController
IDs: CVE-2026-34728, GHSA-38m8-xrfj-v38x
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-34728 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 14:39 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: High (CVSS 8.7)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq 4.1.1. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Packagist phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq: affected <= 4.1.0; fixed in 4.1.1

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Packagist phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-38m8-xrfj-v38x (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-38m8-xrfj-v38x lists affected ranges: Packagist phpmyfaq/phpmyfaq >=0 <=4.1.0)

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