CVE-2019-25685Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Admin code execution via PHAR deserialization

Published Apr 5, 2026 · Updated Apr 5, 2026

Remote code execution in phpBB 3.2.3 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to run PHP code through attachment processing. The plupload endpoint stores a crafted PHAR archive, and the attachment-settings ImageMagick path accepts its phar:// location, triggering PHP metadata deserialization. Exploitation requires control of a founder administrator account and executes code with the web server's privileges.

CVSS severityUnavailable
Unscored
EPSS probabilityUnavailable
No score available in this record
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

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Summary

What happened

Remote code execution in phpBB 3.2.3 and earlier allows remote authenticated users to run PHP code through attachment processing. The plupload endpoint stores a crafted PHAR archive, and the attachment-settings ImageMagick path accepts its phar:// location, triggering PHP metadata deserialization. Exploitation requires control of a founder administrator account and executes code with the web server's privileges.

The record

CVE
CVE-2019-25685
Published
Apr 5, 2026
Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Vendor
phpBB
Product
phpBB
Classifications
T1190
Attack vector
network
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 5, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Apr 5, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

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  1. Affected versionversion=3.2.3

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

phpBB · phpBBversion=3.2.3

Published CVSS scores

No CVSS assessment is available in this record.

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1190Exploit Public-Facing Application

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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