# CVE-2016-9493: PHP forms generated using the PHP FormMail Generator are vulnerable to stored cross-site scripting

> Attackers can execute arbitrary PHP code via stored XSS in generated forms due to incomplete file extension filtering.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.1 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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:** 13 Jul 2018
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-597c-6vf9-vpc4

## What is CVE-2016-9493?

CVE-2016-9493 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in PHP FormMail Generator, published on 13 Jul 2018. 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

The code generated by PHP FormMail Generator prior to 17 December 2016 is vulnerable to stored cross-site scripting. In the generated form.lib.php file, upload file types are checked against a hard-coded list of dangerous extensions. This list does not include all variations of PHP files, which may lead to execution of the contained PHP code if the attacker can guess the uploaded filename. The form by default appends a short random string to the end of the filename.

Weakness: CWE-79 (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation), CWE-80 (Improper Neutralization of Script-Related HTML Tags in a Web Page)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-9493?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Jqueryform Php Formmail Generator.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-9493?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-9493 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2016-9493 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-9493 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in PHP FormMail Generator

- [CVE-2016-9482](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9482/): Auth bypass in Generator (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-9483](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9483/): Deserialization in Generator (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-9492](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9492/): PHP forms generated using the PHP FormMail Generator are vulnerable to unrestricted upload of dangerous file types (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-9484](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9484/): Path traversal in Generator (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-9493 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-9493 is a medium-severity cross-site scripting vulnerability in PHP FormMail Generator, published on 13 Jul 2018. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-9493 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: PHP FormMail Generator. 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-2016-9493/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9493/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-9493
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-9493
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-9493

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9493/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.