# CVE-2005-3389: Security feature bypass in n/a

> Remote attackers can bypass register_globals protections in PHP applications by triggering a memory limit error during parse_str execution.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.0 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 1 Nov 2005
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-7vjg-5rq8-r4h2

## What is CVE-2005-3389?

CVE-2005-3389 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Php Php, published on 1 Nov 2005. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The parse_str function in PHP 4.x up to 4.4.0 and 5.x up to 5.0.5, when called with only one parameter, allows remote attackers to enable the register_globals directive via inputs that cause a request to be terminated due to the memory_limit setting, which causes PHP to set an internal flag that enables register_globals and allows attackers to exploit vulnerabilities in PHP applications that would otherwise be protected.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2005-3389?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Php Php.

## How do I fix CVE-2005-3389?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2005-3389 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2005-3389 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Php Php

- [CVE-2012-2688](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-2688/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2012-2376](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2012-2376/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2011-3268](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2011-3268/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2009-4143](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-4143/): Other in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2008-5557](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-5557/): Memory corruption in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2005-3389 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2005-3389 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Php Php, published on 1 Nov 2005. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2005-3389 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Php Php. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-3389/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-3389/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2005-3389
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2005-3389
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2005-3389

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-3389/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.