# CVE-2005-3416: Auth bypass in n/a

> Remote attackers can bypass security checks in phpBB by manipulating session variables when register_globals is enabled, allowing unauthorized access.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P`)
- **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-5322-9p3h-7h5m

## What is CVE-2005-3416?

CVE-2005-3416 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Phpbb Group Phpbb, published on 1 Nov 2005. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

phpBB 2.0.17 and earlier, when register_globals is enabled and the session_start function has not been called to handle a session, allows remote attackers to bypass security checks by setting the $_SESSION and $HTTP_SESSION_VARS variables to strings instead of arrays, which causes an array_merge function call to fail.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2005-3416?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Phpbb Group Phpbb.

## How do I fix CVE-2005-3416?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2005-3416 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2005-3416 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Phpbb Group Phpbb

- [CVE-2007-1695](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-1695/): File upload in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2006-6839](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-6839/): Open redirect in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2006-6840](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-6840/): Other in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2006-6841](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2006-6841/): Cross-site request forgery in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2002-2176](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-2176/): SQL injection in n/a (critical 10.0)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2005-3416 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2005-3416 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Phpbb Group Phpbb, 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-2005-3416 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Phpbb Group Phpbb. 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-2005-3416/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-3416/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2005-3416
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2005-3416
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2005-3416

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2005-3416/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.