CVE-2008-5814
Description
Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in PHP, possibly 5.2.7 and earlier, when display_errors is enabled, allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via unspecified vectors. NOTE: because of the lack of details, it is unclear whether this is related to CVE-2006-0208.
AI Insight
LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.
Cross-site scripting vulnerability in PHP 5.2.7 and earlier when display_errors is enabled allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via crafted error messages.
Vulnerability
PHP versions 5.2.7 and earlier contain a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in the error handling mechanism. When the display_errors directive is enabled, PHP does not properly sanitize error messages before outputting them. This allows an attacker to inject arbitrary web script or HTML into the error output. The vulnerability is present in all affected PHP versions, including those bundled with products such as HP System Management Homepage (SMH) before v3.0.1.73 [1], and various Linux distributions [3][4].
Exploitation
An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by sending a crafted HTTP request that triggers a PHP error containing malicious script. The attack requires that display_errors is enabled on the target server. No authentication is needed, but the attack complexity is high (CVSS 2.6) because the attacker must convince a user to view the error output, typically by luring them to a malicious link or page. The injected script executes in the context of the vulnerable domain when the user's browser renders the error page.
Impact
Successful exploitation allows the attacker to execute arbitrary script in the victim's browser within the same domain as the vulnerable PHP application. This can lead to theft of sensitive data (e.g., session cookies, credentials), modification of web page content, or other malicious actions. The integrity impact is partial, with no direct impact on confidentiality or availability of the server itself [1][4].
Mitigation
The PHP Group released PHP 5.2.8 on 8 December 2008, which fixes this vulnerability [4]. Users should upgrade to PHP 5.2.8 or later. For PHP 4.x, which is end-of-life, upgrading to a supported PHP 5.2.x version is recommended. Various vendors have provided updates: HP SMH v3.0.1.73 [1], Red Hat via RHSA-2009:0338 [4], and Ubuntu via USN-761-2 [3]. If upgrading is not immediately possible, disabling display_errors in php.ini can mitigate the risk, though this may not be feasible in all environments.
AI Insight generated on May 24, 2026. Synthesized from this CVE's description and the cited reference URLs; citations are validated against the source bundle.
Affected products
110cpe:2.3:a:php:php:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*+ 109 more
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*range: <=5.2.7
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:2.0b10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:3.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:3.0.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:3.0.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:3.0.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:3.0.13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:3.0.14:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:3.0.15:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:3.0.16:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:3.0.17:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:3.0.18:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:3.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:3.0.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:3.0.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:3.0.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:3.0.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:3.0.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:3.0.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:3.0.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.0.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.0.1:patch1:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.0.1:patch2:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.0.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.0.3:patch1:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.0.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.0.4:patch1:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.0.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.0.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.0.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.0.7:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.0.7:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.0.7:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.0.7:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.0:beta1:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.0:beta2:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.0:beta3:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.0:beta4:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.0:beta_4_patch1:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.1.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.2.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.2.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.2:*:dev:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.3.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.3.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.3.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.3.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.3.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.3.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.3.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.3.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.3.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.3.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.3.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.4.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.4.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.4.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.4.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.4.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.4.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.4.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.4.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:4.4.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.0.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.0.0:beta1:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.0.0:beta2:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.0.0:beta3:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.0.0:beta4:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.0.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.0.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.0.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.0.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.0.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.0.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.0.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.0.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.1.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.1.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.1.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.1.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.1.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.2.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.2.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.2.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.2.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- cpe:2.3:a:php:php:5.2.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
- (no CPE)range: <=5.2.7
Patches
0No patches discovered yet.
Vulnerability mechanics
AI mechanics synthesis has not run for this CVE yet.
References
16- h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jspnvd
- jvn.jp/en/jp/JVN50327700/index.htmlnvd
- jvndb.jvn.jp/en/contents/2008/JVNDB-2008-000084.htmlnvd
- marc.infonvd
- secunia.com/advisories/34830nvd
- secunia.com/advisories/34933nvd
- secunia.com/advisories/35003nvd
- secunia.com/advisories/35007nvd
- secunia.com/advisories/35108nvd
- www.debian.org/security/2009/dsa-1789nvd
- www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2009-0350.htmlnvd
- www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-761-2nvd
- www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/1338nvd
- exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/47496nvd
- oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A10501nvd
- usn.ubuntu.com/761-1/nvd
News mentions
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