Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:XSummary
CVE-2020-37137 is a high-severity Eval Injection (CWE-95) vulnerability in Php-Fusion Phpfusion. Its CVSS base score is 8.6 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 42th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
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-2020-37137 is a remote code execution vulnerability affecting PHP-Fusion version 9.03.50. The issue resides in the add_panel_form() function within the panels.php administration endpoint, where unsanitized POST data from the panel_content parameter is passed to an eval() function, enabling arbitrary code execution. This flaw is classified under CWE-95 (Improper Neutralization of Directives in Dynamically Evaluated Code) and CWE-94 (Improper Control of Generation of Code), with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 6.1 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N).
Unauthenticated attackers (PR:N) can exploit this vulnerability over the network (AV:N) with low complexity (AC:L), though it requires user interaction (UI:R), such as tricking an administrator into processing a malicious request. By sending crafted panel_content POST parameters to the panels.php endpoint, attackers achieve remote code execution with changed scope (S:C), potentially leading to limited confidentiality and integrity impacts (C:L/I:L).
Advisories and related resources, including an exploit proof-of-concept on Exploit-DB (https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/48278), the official PHP-Fusion site (https://www.php-fusion.co.uk), and a Vulncheck advisory (https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/php-fusion-panelsphp-eval-injection), provide further details on the issue published on 2026-02-05. Security practitioners should consult these for exploitation vectors and recommended mitigations.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2020-31029
Vulnerability Data
PHP-Fusion 9.03.50 contains a remote code execution vulnerability in the 'add_panel_form()' function that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code through an eval() function with unsanitized POST data. Attackers can exploit the vulnerability by sending crafted panel_content POST parameters to the…
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panels.php administration endpoint to execute malicious code.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Direct RCE via eval() injection in public web app admin endpoint enables T1190 (Exploit Public-Facing Application) for initial access and T1059 (Command and Scripting Interpreter) for arbitrary code execution.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly requires validation and sanitization of all input (panel_content POST) before it reaches dangerous constructs such as eval().
Mandates prompt application of patches or code fixes that eliminate the eval-injection flaw in add_panel_form().
Restricts the use of high-risk language features (eval) and disables unnecessary administrative functions that expose the vulnerable endpoint.
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.
Secure SDLC practices directly require input neutralization and avoidance of unsafe dynamic evaluation.
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.
Security testing in development can detect eval injection vulnerabilities before deployment.
Secure development life cycle mandates input validation and safe coding practices that directly prevent eval injection.
Application security requirements include rules against dynamic code execution of untrusted input.
Secure architecture principles discourage unsafe dynamic evaluation constructs.
Secure coding explicitly requires neutralization of input before dynamic evaluation, directly mitigating eval injection.
Separation of environments limits the blast radius if eval injection occurs in non-production.