Summary
ZendFramework potential SQL Injection Vector When Using PDO_MySql
Developers using non-ASCII-compatible encodings in conjunction with the MySQL PDO driver of PHP may be vulnerable to SQL injection attacks. Developers using ASCII-compatible encodings like UTF8 or latin1 are not affected by this PHP issue, which is described in more detail here:
http://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=47802
The PHP Group included a feature in PHP 5.3.6+ that allows any character set information to be passed as part of the DSN in PDO to allow both the database as well as the C-level driver to be aware of which charset is in use which is of special importance when PDO's quoting mechanisms are utilized, which Zend Framework also relies on.
Impact
Untrusted input alters a database query, allowing the attacker to read or modify data the query was not intended to access. Typical impact: data disclosure or modification.
GHSA-QF36-FX9F-232X has a CVSS score of 9.8 (Critical). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (1.10.9, 1.11.6); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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zendframework/zendframework1 to 1.10.9 or later; zendframework/zendframework1 to 1.11.6 or later
Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is GHSA-QF36-FX9F-232X? GHSA-QF36-FX9F-232X is a critical-severity SQL injection vulnerability in zendframework/zendframework1 (composer), affecting versions >= 1.10.0, < 1.10.9. It is fixed in 1.10.9, 1.11.6. Untrusted input alters a database query, allowing the attacker to read or modify data the query was not intended to access.
- How severe is GHSA-QF36-FX9F-232X? GHSA-QF36-FX9F-232X has a CVSS score of 9.8 (Critical). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of zendframework/zendframework1 are affected by GHSA-QF36-FX9F-232X? zendframework/zendframework1 (composer) versions >= 1.10.0, < 1.10.9 is affected.
- Is there a fix for GHSA-QF36-FX9F-232X? Yes. GHSA-QF36-FX9F-232X is fixed in 1.10.9, 1.11.6. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is GHSA-QF36-FX9F-232X exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-QF36-FX9F-232X is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether GHSA-QF36-FX9F-232X is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix GHSA-QF36-FX9F-232X?
- Upgrade
zendframework/zendframework1to 1.10.9 or later - Upgrade
zendframework/zendframework1to 1.11.6 or later
- Upgrade