# CVE-2017-14231: GeniXCMS denial of service (account blockage)

> Remote attackers can block legitimate user accounts by exploiting username substring mishandling during registration in GeniXCMS.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 10 Sep 2017
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-2m9r-pm7q-wr6f

## What is CVE-2017-14231?

CVE-2017-14231 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 10 Sep 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

GeniXCMS before 1.1.0 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (account blockage) by leveraging the mishandling of certain username substring relationships, such as the admin<script> username versus the admin username, related to register.php, User.class.php, and Type.class.php.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-14231?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including genix/cms. It affects 1 product.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `genix/cms` | Packagist | All versions | 1.1.0 |
| `genix/cms` | Packagist | All versions | 1.1.0 |

Products: Genixcms Genixcms.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-14231?

Upgrade genix/cms to 1.1.0 or later.

## Is CVE-2017-14231 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-14231 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2017-8827](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-8827/): GeniXCMS Arbitrary User Password Reset Vulnerability (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2017-14763](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-14763/): GeniXCMS arbitrary PHP code execution (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2017-14764](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-14764/): GeniXCMS arbitrary PHP code execution (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2017-8377](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-8377/): GeniXCMS SQL Injection (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2015-2679](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2015-2679/): SQL injection in n/a (high 7.5)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-14231 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-14231 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 10 Sep 2017. 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-2017-14231 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- genix/cms (Packagist): affected all versions; fixed in 1.1.0
- genix/cms (Packagist): affected all versions; fixed in 1.1.0

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-2017-14231/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-14231/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-14231
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-14231
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-14231

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-14231/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.