CVE-2020-5501 phpBB Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Medium 4.3
Published
Updated
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-5501 and fix it if it is affected.
What it is: CVE-2020-5501 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 14 Jan 2020. 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-2020-5501 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Affected packages and fixed versions:
- phpbb/phpbb (Packagist): affected from 3.2.8; fixed in 3.2.9
- phpbb/phpbb (Packagist): affected from 3.2.8; fixed in 3.2.9
- phpbb (Bitnami): affected from 3.2.8 up to 3.2.8; no fix listed
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-2020-5501/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-5501/index.md)
Attackers can trick users into modifying group avatars via CSRF, requiring an upgrade to phpBB.
- 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
What is CVE-2020-5501?
CVE-2020-5501 is a medium-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 14 Jan 2020. 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
phpBB 3.2.8 allows a CSRF attack that can modify a group avatar.
Weakness: CWE-352
Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-5501?
3 open source packages ship an affected version, including phpbb/phpbb and phpbb. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
phpbb/phpbb Packagist | From 3.2.8 | 3.2.9 |
phpbb/phpbb Packagist | From 3.2.8 | 3.2.9 |
phpbb Bitnami | From 3.2.8 to 3.2.8 | None |
Products include Phpbb Phpbb.
How do I fix CVE-2020-5501?
Upgrade phpbb/phpbb to 3.2.9 or later.
Is CVE-2020-5501 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-5501 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in n/a
- CVE-2008-3224 Other in n/a
- CVE-2008-1766 Multiple unspecified vulnerabilities in phpBB before 3.0.1 have unknown impact and attack vectors, related to "two minor security-related bu
- CVE-2025-70810 Cross-site request forgery in n/a
- CVE-2001-1471 Code injection in n/a
- CVE-2026-29199 phpBB has Password Reset Link Poisoning via Host Header injection
Sources
Also known as BIT-phpbb-2020-5501, GHSA-cpqc-g4r8-6hxg.