Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2017-9841 is a critical-severity Code Injection (CWE-94) vulnerability in Phpunit Project Phpunit. Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Junk Data (T1001.001); ranked in the top 0.0% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2017-9841 is a remote code execution vulnerability in the Util/PHP/eval-stdin.php component of PHPUnit versions prior to 4.8.28 and 5.x prior to 5.6.3. The flaw stems from improper handling of HTTP POST input that begins with a "<?php " substring, which is passed directly to PHP evaluation, corresponding to CWE-94 code injection. It affects installations where the PHPUnit package is present under a web-accessible path such as an exposed /vendor directory.
Remote attackers with no authentication or user interaction can exploit the issue by sending crafted POST data to the eval-stdin.php URI, achieving arbitrary PHP code execution with the privileges of the web server process. The vulnerability carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, reflecting network attack vector, low complexity, and full impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
The referenced GitHub commit and pull request, along with the archived PHPUnit advisory, indicate that the issue is resolved by upgrading to the fixed versions 4.8.28 or 5.6.3, which remove or restrict the eval-stdin.php functionality.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2022-1528
Vulnerability Data
Util/PHP/eval-stdin.php in PHPUnit before 4.8.28 and 5.x before 5.6.3 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary PHP code via HTTP POST data beginning with a "<?php " substring, as demonstrated by an attack on a site with an exposed /vendor folder,…
more
i.e., external access to the /vendor/phpunit/phpunit/src/Util/PHP/eval-stdin.php URI.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 15 February 2022
Related Threats
Threat-Actor AttributionAI
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
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Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V1.3.1
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Makes persistent code injection into loaded programs impossible when the executable image itself resides on hardware-protected read-only media.
Dynamically generated code can be produced and executed inside the isolated chamber, preventing host compromise from code-injection payloads.
Validates inputs used in dynamic code generation to block injected directives.
Directly prevents execution of attacker-supplied code written into data memory regions.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
PR.PS-06's SDLC practices directly target injection flaws via secure coding and testing (mostly), yet as a single broad outcome it leaves many code-generation specifics unaddressed (partial).
PR.DS-10 protects runtime data confidentiality/integrity but has no bearing on neutralizing externally influenced input during code generation, so neither direction shows any preventive effect.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.