# CVE-2009-4780: Cross-site scripting in n/a

> Remote attackers can inject arbitrary web script or HTML via multiple parameters in phpMyFAQ, requiring user interaction to execute.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.3 (`AV:N/AC:M/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:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 21 Apr 2010
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3j65-5g3g-m8f2

## What is CVE-2009-4780?

CVE-2009-4780 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Phpmyfaq Phpmyfaq, published on 21 Apr 2010. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Multiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in index.php in phpMyFAQ before 2.5.5 allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via (1) the lang parameter in a sitemap action, (2) the search parameter in a search action, (3) the tagging_id parameter in a search action, (4) the highlight parameter in an artikel action, (5) the artlang parameter in an artikel action, (6) the letter parameter in a sitemap action, (7) the lang parameter in a show action, (8) the cat parameter in a show action, (9) the newslang parameter in a news action, (10) the artlang parameter in a send2friend action, (11) the cat parameter in a send2friend action, (12) the id parameter in a send2friend action, (13) the srclang parameter in a translate action, (14) the id parameter in a translate action, (15) the cat parameter in a translate action, (16) the cat parameter in an add action, or (17) the question parameter in an add action.  NOTE: the provenance of this information is unknown; the details are obtained solely from third party information.

Weakness: CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2009-4780?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Phpmyfaq Phpmyfaq.

## How do I fix CVE-2009-4780?

No fix has been published for CVE-2009-4780 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2009-4780 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2009-4780 exists.

Public exploit code:

- phpMyFAQ < 2.5.4 - Multiple Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerabilities (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Phpmyfaq Phpmyfaq

- [CVE-2023-0310](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-0310/): Cross-site Scripting (XSS) - Stored in thorsten/phpmyfaq (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-4407](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-4407/): Cross-site Scripting (XSS) - Reflected in thorsten/phpmyfaq (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2017-11187](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-11187/): Security feature bypass in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-76213](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-76213/): phpMyFAQ before 4.1.7 2FA Brute-Force via Session-Scoped Throttle (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2026-76214](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-76214/): phpMyFAQ before 4.1.7 WebAuthn Replay Attack via Challenge (critical 9.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2009-4780 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2009-4780 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in Phpmyfaq Phpmyfaq, published on 21 Apr 2010. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2009-4780 exists.

Affected product: Phpmyfaq Phpmyfaq. 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-2009-4780/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-4780/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2009-4780
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-4780
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2009-4780

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-4780/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.