CVE-2024-3096VulnerabilityPublished 14 May 2024Updated 4 Nov 2025

CVE-2024-3096: PHP · Improper Input Validation

Affects PHPSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium · fixed in 8.3.5 : update PHP when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

6.5Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 1.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 73% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 8.3.5, 8.2.18, 8.1.28

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 14 May 2024
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade php/php-src to 8.3.5, 8.2.18 or 8.1.28.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
GitHubphp/php-src`pkg:github/php/php-src`Other threats	Affected >=8.1.0 <8.1.28 >=8.2.0 <8.2.18 >=8.3.0 <8.3.5	Fixed in 8.1.28 8.2.18 8.3.5

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

European organizations should immediately upgrade PHP to versions 8.1.28, 8.2.18, or 8.3.5 or later, where this vulnerability is fixed. In addition to patching, organizations should audit their user databases to identify any password hashes starting with a null byte and reset those passwords to prevent exploitation. Implement additional authentication controls such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) to reduce the risk of unauthorized access even if password verification is bypassed. Review and harden input validation and sanitization processes in authentication workflows to prevent malformed or malicious inputs. Monitor authentication logs for unusual login attempts with blank passwords or other anomalous patterns. Conduct penetration testing focused on authentication bypass scenarios to validate the effectiveness of mitigations. Finally, ensure that development teams are aware of this vulnerability and avoid creating password hashes with null byte prefixes in custom implementations.

Description

In PHP version 8.1.* before 8.1.28, 8.2.* before 8.2.18, 8.3.* before 8.3.5, if a password stored with password_hash() starts with a null byte (\x00), testing a blank string as the password via password_verify() will incorrectly return true.

Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the confidentiality of user accounts and sensitive data. Attackers can bypass authentication controls by exploiting the null byte prefix condition, potentially gaining unauthorized access to web applications, internal systems, or administrative interfaces that rely on PHP's password_hash() and password_verify() functions. This can lead to data breaches, unauthorized data access, and further lateral movement within networks. Sectors such as finance, healthcare, government, and critical infrastructure are particularly at risk due to the sensitive nature of their data and the widespread use of PHP in their web applications. The vulnerability does not directly affect system integrity or availability but can be a stepping stone for more severe attacks if combined with other vulnerabilities or misconfigurations. The lack of known exploits in the wild currently reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, especially as attackers may develop exploits given the public disclosure. Organizations failing to patch promptly may face compliance issues with data protection regulations like GDPR if unauthorized access leads to data exposure.

CWE-20Improper Input Validation (opens in a new tab)
Class weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #18OWASP Top 10 A05:2025: Injection (opens in a new tab)
The product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly.
MITRE discourages mapping vulnerabilities to this broad entry; the root cause is usually a more specific weakness.
Architecture and Design · Attack Surface Reduction
Consider using language-theoretic security (LangSec) techniques that characterize inputs using a formal language and build "recognizers" for that language. This effectively requires parsing to be a distinct layer that effectively enforces a boundary between raw input and internal data representations, instead of…
Architecture and Design · Libraries or Frameworks
Use an input validation framework such as Struts or the OWASP ESAPI Validation API. Note that using a framework does not automatically address all input validation problems; be mindful of weaknesses that could arise from misusing the framework itself (CWE-1173).
Architecture and Design · Implementation · Attack Surface Reduction
Understand all the potential areas where untrusted inputs can enter the product, including but not limited to: parameters or arguments, cookies, anything read from the network, environment variables, reverse DNS lookups, query results, request headers, URL components, e-mail, files, filenames, databases, and any…
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
Injection Prevention (opens in a new tab)
SQL Injection Prevention (opens in a new tab)
Injection Prevention in Java (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Buffer Overflow via Environment Variables (opens in a new tab)
Server Side Include (SSI) Injection (opens in a new tab)
Cross Zone Scripting (opens in a new tab)
Command Line Execution through SQL Injection (opens in a new tab)
Object Relational Mapping Injection (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 4 Nov 2025, 17:58 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-20

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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