Description
The Zend Engine in PHP 4.x before 4.4.7, and 5.x before 5.2.2, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (stack exhaustion and PHP crash) via deeply nested arrays, which trigger deep recursion in the variable destruction routines.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 5 | php +18 | 5.1.6-7.el5 | RHSA-2007:0082 |
| RHEL 4 | php +13 | 4.3.9-3.22.4 | RHSA-2007:0155 |
| RHEL 3 | php +6 | 4.3.2-40.ent | RHSA-2007:0155 |
| RHEL 2 | php +7 | 4.1.2-2.17 | RHSA-2007:0154 |
Show 2 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Rhel Stronghold 4 | stronghold-php +8 | 4.1.2-15 | RHSA-2007:0163 |
| Red Hat Rhel Application Stack 1 | php +18 | 5.1.6-3.el4s1.6 | RHSA-2007:0162 |
Public exploits
Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.
Third-party code, not reviewed by us. Public PoCs are sometimes fake or contain malware. Read the code first and run it only in an isolated lab, against systems you are authorised to test.
Exploit-DB 1
- PHP 3/4/5 - ZendEngine Variable Destruction Remote Denial of Service EDB-29692 · dos · Mar 1, 2007 · verified
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
Advisories 5
- RHSA-2007:0162 Red Hat Security Advisory: php security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 29, 2026
- RHSA-2007:0163 Red Hat Security Advisory: php security update for Stronghold Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 29, 2026
- RHSA-2007:0155 Red Hat Security Advisory: php security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 29, 2026
- RHSA-2007:0154 Red Hat Security Advisory: php security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 29, 2026
- RHSA-2007:0082 Red Hat Security Advisory: php security update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 29, 2026
References
- https://launchpad.net/bugs/173043
- 22764 vdb-entry
- RHSA-2007:0154 vendor-advisory
- 26048 third-party-advisory
- 20070418 rPSA-2007-0073-1 php php-mysql php-pgsql mailing-list
- GLSA-200705-19 vendor-advisory
- 24941 third-party-advisory
- 27864 third-party-advisory
- RHSA-2007:0162 vendor-advisory
- http://us2.php.net/releases/4_4_7.php
- http://www.php.net/releases/4_4_8.php
- SSA:2008-045-03 vendor-advisory
- http://www.php.net/ChangeLog-5.php#5.2.4
- 28936 third-party-advisory
- MDKSA-2007:090 vendor-advisory
- http://www.php-security.org/MOPB/MOPB-03-2007.html
- USN-549-1 vendor-advisory
- 24909 third-party-advisory
- MDKSA-2007:087 vendor-advisory
- 24945 third-party-advisory
- oval:org.mitre.oval:def:11017 vdb-entry signature
- https://issues.rpath.com/browse/RPL-1268
- 32769 vdb-entry
- http://us2.php.net/releases/5_2_2.php
- 1017771 vdb-entry
- RHSA-2007:0082 vendor-advisory
- 24924 third-party-advisory
- RHSA-2007:0155 vendor-advisory
- 24910 third-party-advisory
- http://www.php.net/ChangeLog-4.php
- http://www.php.net/releases/5_2_4.php
- MDKSA-2007:089 vendor-advisory
- 25445 third-party-advisory
- RHSA-2007:0163 vendor-advisory
- USN-549-2 vendor-advisory
- 26642 third-party-advisory
- MDKSA-2007:088 vendor-advisory
- SUSE-SA:2007:044 vendor-advisory