critical CVSS 10

CVE-2026-39337·PHP vulnerability

ChurchCRM is an open-source church management system. Prior to 7.1.0, critical pre-authentication remote code execution vulnerability in ChurchCRM's setup wizard allows unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary PHP code during the initial installation process, leading to complete server compromise. The "$dbPassword" variable is not sanitized. This vulnerability exists due to an incomplete fix for CVE-2025-62521. This vulnerability is fixed in 7.1.0.

Severity
critical
Software
PHP
Fixed in
7.1.0
Published
2026-04-07

Affected versions

Until: 7.1.0

Fixed in: 7.1.0

How to fix this CVE

Upgrade ChurchCRM to version 7.1.0 or later immediately, as this critical vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary PHP code through the setup wizard without authentication. If you are running an affected version of PHP with ChurchCRM installed, disable or restrict access to the setup wizard endpoint until you can complete the upgrade. Additionally, review your web server logs for any suspicious activity during the setup phase and consider redeploying your application from a clean state after patching.

sudo dnf update php

Defensia detects this vulnerability

What an exploitation attempt looks like

Sample log line indicative of exploitation attempts:

POST /setup.php|install/index.php with parameter dbPassword containing PHP code patterns such as: <?php, system(, exec(, shell_exec(, passthru(, or base64 encoding followed by eval(

WAF mitigation (if patching is not yet possible)

Add this rule to your WAF to block exploitation attempts while you schedule the patch. 

Block all POST/GET requests to setup.php, install/*, or any installation wizard endpoints from non-trusted IP ranges. Implement authentication gate before setup wizard is accessible. Add ModSecurity rule to detect PHP code injection in POST parameters: SecRule ARGS 'php\s*\(' 'id:1000,phase:2,deny,status:403' for setup endpoints. Restrict setup.php execution to localhost only using IP whitelist rules.

How to check if you are affected

  1. Check your ChurchCRM version by navigating to the admin panel or checking the version file: grep -r 'VERSION' /path/to/churchcrm/src/ | head -5
  2. Verify the setup.php or install wizard is still accessible by checking file permissions: ls -la /path/to/churchcrm/setup.php or ls -la /path/to/churchcrm/install/
  3. Search web server access logs for POST requests to setup or installation endpoints: grep -i 'setup\|install' /var/log/apache2/access.log | grep POST
  4. Confirm the patch is applied by checking ChurchCRM version matches 7.1.0+: curl http://localhost/churchcrm/api/version 2>/dev/null || check the composer.lock file version constraint

FAQ

What is CVE-2026-39337?

CVE-2026-39337 is a pre-authentication remote code execution vulnerability in ChurchCRM's setup wizard that allows attackers to inject malicious PHP code through an unsanitized database password parameter, bypassing authentication entirely and compromising the entire server.

Is CVE-2026-39337 being actively exploited?

No, CVE-2026-39337 is not currently listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog and no public exploits are available, though the attack surface is critical and remediation should not be delayed.

What versions of ChurchCRM are affected by CVE-2026-39337?

All versions of ChurchCRM prior to 7.1.0 are affected, including all versions that attempted to patch the earlier CVE-2025-62521 but left the dbPassword variable unsanitized.

How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2026-39337?

Run: grep -r 'dbPassword' /path/to/churchcrm/setup.php | grep -v 'sanitize\|escape\|prepared' and verify ChurchCRM version with: grep '"version"' /path/to/churchcrm/composer.json | head -1. If the version is below 7.1.0 and setup.php is accessible without authentication, your system is vulnerable.

Does Defensia detect CVE-2026-39337?

Yes — Defensia's CVE advisory scanner compares installed package versions against the NVD database. If ChurchCRM is installed on a monitored server, CVE-2026-39337 will appear in your dashboard with remediation steps.

Related PHP CVEs

CVE-2025-62521CVSS 10ChurchCRM is an open-source church management system. Prior to version 5.21.0, a pre-authentication remote code execution vulnerability in ChurchCRM's setup wizard allows unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary PHP code during the initial installation process, leading to complete server compromise. The vulnerability exists in `setup/routes/setup.php` where user input from the setup form is directly concatenated into a PHP configuration template without any validation or sanitization. Any parameter in the setup form can be used to inject PHP code that gets written to `Include/Config.php`, which is then executed on every page load. This is more severe than typical authenticated RCE vulnerabilities because it requires no credentials and affects the installation process that administrators must complete. Version 5.21.0 patches the issue.
CVE-2025-25174CVSS 10Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in beeteam368 BeeTeam368 Extensions beeteam368-extensions allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects BeeTeam368 Extensions: from n/a through <= 1.9.4.
CVE-2025-46348CVSS 10YesWiki is a wiki system written in PHP. Prior to version 4.5.4, the request to commence a site backup can be performed and downloaded without authentication. The archives are created with a predictable filename, so a malicious user could create and download an archive without being authenticated. This could result in a malicious attacker making numerous requests to create archives and fill up the file system, or by downloading the archive which contains sensitive site information. This issue has been patched in version 4.5.4.
CVE-2024-5932CVSS 10The GiveWP – Donation Plugin and Fundraising Platform plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection in all versions up to, and including, 3.14.1 via deserialization of untrusted input from the 'give_title' parameter. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject a PHP Object. The additional presence of a POP chain allows attackers to execute code remotely, and to delete arbitrary files.
CVE-2026-28289CVSS 10FreeScout is a free help desk and shared inbox built with PHP's Laravel framework. A patch bypass vulnerability for CVE-2026-27636 in FreeScout 1.8.206 and earlier allows any authenticated user with file upload permissions to achieve Remote Code Execution (RCE) on the server by uploading a malicious .htaccess file using a zero-width space character prefix to bypass the security check. The vulnerability exists in the sanitizeUploadedFileName() function in app/Http/Helper.php. The function contains a Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) flaw where the dot-prefix check occurs before sanitization removes invisible characters. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.8.207.

References

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