phpMyFAQ before 4.1.7, when configured to use PostgreSQL via the native pgsql PHP extension, declares an incorrect LIKE ESCAPE character ('=') in the Search/Database/Pgsql.php backend while escapeLikeWildcards() escapes user input with the '|' prefix. As a result, wildcard escaping is a no-op and user-supplied % and _ characters remain active LIKE wildcards. An unauthenticated attacker can submit such characters in the public FAQ search form to force maximally broad pattern matches and expensive sequential scans, resulting in a denial of service. The PDO PostgreSQL backend is not affected, and quotes remain escaped so this does not enable quote-breaking SQL injection or data exfiltration.
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/phpmyfaq-before-like-wildcard-injection-via-postgresql
https://github.com/thorsten/phpMyFAQ/security/advisories/GHSA-5hx6-c293-588h
Published: 2026-08-19
Updated: 2026-08-25
Base Score: 5
Vector: CVSS2#AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
Severity: Medium
Base Score: 5.3
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Severity: Medium
Base Score: 6.9
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Severity: Medium
EPSS: 0.00299