‹ Back to list

CVE-2004-0542

Status: ModifiedHigh (10)—
Severity10High · CVSS 2.0
Exploitation probability31 %higher than 98% of CVEs
Active exploitationNonot in the CISA catalog
Public exploitNot knownno public code found

PHP before 4.3.7 on Win32 platforms does not properly filter all shell metacharacters, which allows local or remote attackers to execute arbitrary code, overwrite files, and access internal environment variables via (1) the "%", "|", or ">" characters to the escapeshellcmd function, or (2) the "%" character to the escapeshellarg function.

CVSS

Base score
10
Version
2.0
Vector
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Exploitation probability (EPSS)

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
31 %
Percentile among all scored CVEs
98
Score date
10/22/2026

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System, FIRST) estimates how likely a vulnerability is to be exploited in the wild within 30 days. It complements CVSS (impact) and CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).

Affected technologies (1)

PHP — PHP

CWEs

References

Show 6 references

Raw JSON (NVD)

Show
{
  "id": "CVE-2004-0542",
  "cveTags": [],
  "metrics": {
    "cvssMetricV2": [
      {
        "type": "Primary",
        "source": "nvd@nist.gov",
        "cvssData": {
          "version": "2.0",
          "baseScore": 10,
          "accessVector": "NETWORK",
          "vectorString": "AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C",
          "authentication": "NONE",
          "integrityImpact": "COMPLETE",
          "accessComplexity": "LOW",
          "availabilityImpact": "COMPLETE",
          "confidentialityImpact": "COMPLETE"
        },
        "acInsufInfo": false,
        "impactScore": 10,
        "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
        "obtainAllPrivilege": true,
        "exploitabilityScore": 10,
        "obtainUserPrivilege": false,
        "obtainOtherPrivilege": false,
        "userInteractionRequired": false
      }
    ]
  },
  "affected": [
    {
      "source": "cve@mitre.org",
      "affectedData": [
        {
          "vendor": "n/a",
          "product": "n/a",
          "versions": [
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "n/a"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "published": "2004-08-06T04:00:00.000",
  "references": [
    {
      "url": "http://www.idefense.com/application/poi/display?id=108",
      "tags": [
        "Not Applicable"
      ],
      "source": "cve@mitre.org"
    },
    {
      "url": "http://www.php.net/release_4_3_7.php",
      "tags": [
        "Patch",
        "Release Notes",
        "Vendor Advisory"
      ],
      "source": "cve@mitre.org"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/16331",
      "tags": [
        "Third Party Advisory",
        "VDB Entry"
      ],
      "source": "cve@mitre.org"
    },
    {
      "url": "http://www.idefense.com/application/poi/display?id=108",
      "tags": [
        "Not Applicable"
      ],
      "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"
    },
    {
      "url": "http://www.php.net/release_4_3_7.php",
      "tags": [
        "Patch",
        "Release Notes",
        "Vendor Advisory"
      ],
      "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/16331",
      "tags": [
        "Third Party Advisory",
        "VDB Entry"
      ],
      "source": "af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"
    }
  ],
  "vulnStatus": "Modified",
  "weaknesses": [
    {
      "type": "Primary",
      "source": "nvd@nist.gov",
      "description": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "NVD-CWE-noinfo"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "descriptions": [
    {
      "lang": "en",
      "value": "PHP before 4.3.7 on Win32 platforms does not properly filter all shell metacharacters, which allows local or remote attackers to execute arbitrary code, overwrite files, and access internal environment variables via (1) the \"%\", \"|\", or \">\" characters to the escapeshellcmd function, or (2) the \"%\" character to the escapeshellarg function."
    },
    {
      "lang": "es",
      "value": "PHP anteriores a 4.3.7 en plataformas Win32 no filtra adecuadamente todos los metacaractéres de shell, lo que permite a atacantes locales o remotos ejecutar código de su elección, sobreescribir ficheros, y acceder a variables de entorno internas mediante (1) caractéres \"%\", \"|\", or \">\" en la función escapeshelcmd, o (2) el carácter \"%\" en la función escapeshellarg"
    }
  ],
  "lastModified": "2026-06-16T22:05:50.797",
  "configurations": [
    {
      "nodes": [
        {
          "negate": false,
          "cpeMatch": [
            {
              "criteria": "cpe:2.3:a:php:php:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*",
              "vulnerable": true,
              "matchCriteriaId": "92691A0B-D8C5-44C9-961D-CEBFA9508EE0",
              "versionEndExcluding": "4.3.7"
            }
          ],
          "operator": "OR"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sourceIdentifier": "cve@mitre.org"
}