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CVE-2020-17496 is a pre-authentication remote command execution vulnerability in vBulletin affecting versions 5.5.4 through 5.6.2. The flaw is a bypass of the earlier fix for CVE-2019-16759 and arises from incomplete hardening of vBulletin’s template rendering logic for Ajax requests. An attacker can send a crafted ajax/render/widget_tabbedcontainer_tab_panel request containing malicious subWidgets data that causes the application to load a child widget template in an unsafe way. By assigning the PHP-capable widget template as a child template and supplying attacker-controlled code through widget configuration data, the request reaches the PHP evaluation path used by vBulletin’s template runtime, resulting in execution of attacker-supplied commands on the server. The issue is remotely reachable without prior authentication and has been observed exploited in the wild.
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1 valid exploit after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos.
This repository contains a single Metasploit module targeting a remote code execution vulnerability (CVE-2020-17496) in vBulletin 5.x, specifically via the /ajax/render/widget_tabbedcontainer_tab_panel endpoint. The exploit abuses a logic flaw in the template rendering code, allowing an attacker to inject PHP code that is executed on the server. The module supports multiple payloads, including PHP Meterpreter shells and generic command execution for Unix and Windows targets. The code is written in Ruby and leverages Metasploit's HttpClient mixin for network communication. The module is highly weaponized, providing reliable exploitation and payload delivery. The only fingerprintable endpoints are the vBulletin base path and the vulnerable AJAX endpoint. The exploit is operational against vBulletin 5.x installations (tested on 5.6.2) and requires the attacker to specify the target URI.
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3 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
A specific vulnerability included among the exploit targets used by the Gitpaste-12/X10-unix cryptomining worm.
A remote command execution vulnerability in vBulletin 5.5.4 through 5.6.2 caused by crafted subWidgets data in an ajax/render/widget_tabbedcontainer_tab_panel request.
A pre-auth remote code execution vulnerability in vBulletin that bypasses the fix for CVE-2019-16759 by abusing template rendering to execute attacker-controlled PHP code.
Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.
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Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.