phpMyFAQ: SQL LIKE Wildcard Injection in Chat User Search Allows Authenticated User Enumeration

Exploitation

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

CVSS

5.4 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N

EPSS

• CVE-2026-47132: 0.25% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 16.74 (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 An authenticated SQL LIKE wildcard injection vulnerability in phpMyFAQ’s chat user search allows any logged-in user to bypass the intended display-name search filter and enumerate active users. The endpoint escapes SQL string syntax but does not escape % and , which remain active LIKE wildcards.

Details The vulnerable endpoint is: Source: Sink: escape() prevents SQL string breakout, but it does not escape SQL LIKE metacharacters. Therefore, attacker-controlled % and are interpreted by the database as wildcards. The project already uses a safer pattern elsewhere with ESCAPE '|' and wildcard escaping, but this chat search path does not apply it.

PoC: Tested against: phpMyFAQ 4.2.0-alpha commit c0b7158df4bfb11d57b1ef7d471760583c9c2fae Prerequisite: attacker has any valid authenticated user account. 1. Ensure there are multiple active users in the database, for example: 2. Send a normal query that should not match any user: Observed response: 3. Send a wildcard query:…

Published by the source

12 Aug 2026, 15:17 UTC

Last modified by the source

24 Sep 2026, 18:45 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 14:53 UTC

1. Revision 2 · amended · 26 Oct 2026

   Amended from ghsa record GHSA-6pvm-2vjj-rx4w

2. Revision 1 · created · 24 Oct 2026

   Published from osv record GHSA-6pvm-2vjj-rx4w

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-47132

Advisory: phpMyFAQ: SQL LIKE Wildcard Injection in Chat User Search Allows Authenticated User Enumeration
IDs: CVE-2026-47132, GHSA-6pvm-2vjj-rx4w
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-47132 (revision 2, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 14:53 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Medium (CVSS 5.4)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: thorsten/phpmyfaq 4.2.0-alpha. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Packagist thorsten/phpmyfaq: affected < 4.2.0-alpha; fixed in 4.2.0-alpha

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Packagist thorsten/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 thorsten/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://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-6pvm-2vjj-rx4w (OSV record GHSA-6pvm-2vjj-rx4w lists affected ranges: Packagist thorsten/phpmyfaq >=0 <4.2.0-alpha (fixed))
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-6pvm-2vjj-rx4w (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-6pvm-2vjj-rx4w lists affected ranges: Packagist thorsten/phpmyfaq >=0 <4.2.0-alpha)

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