Security PHP 8.1.28, 8.2.18, 8.3.6 Security Updates & Backported Fixes For PHP 7.2/7.3/7.4/8.0

PHP has released security & bug fix updates specifically for PHP 8.1.28, 8.2.18 and 8.3.6 (CVE-2024-2756 & CVE-2024-3096). Centmin Mod has backported relevant security fixes for EOL PHP 5.6/7.0/7.1/7.2/7.3/7.4/8.0 versions. For Centmin Mod 124.00stable and 130.00beta01, you can update to those versions if you haven't already. And if you're already on Centmin Mod 124.00stable or 130.00beta01, you can pull this latest update to your server via cmupdate command.

Centmin Mod 124.00stable supports max PHP 8.1 branch, for PHP 8.2 and PHP 8.3, you need to switch and update to Centmin Mod 130.00beta01 as outlined here.

Ensure that you run cmupdate command to update your Centmin Mod local server code BEFORE you run the centmin.sh menu option 5 to update their PHP versions.

PHP Releases

• PHP 8.3.6 - is latest newest PHP 8.3 minor version
• PHP 8.2.18 - latest newest PHP 8.2 minor version
• PHP 8.1.28 - latest newest PHP 8.1 minor version. Centmin Mod tests at PHP 8.1.0 vs 8.0.13 vs 7.4.26 vs 7.3.33 vs 7.2.34 Benchmarks
• PHP 8.0.30 - last release in PHP 8.0 branch which is now end of life - no more bug fixes or security updates.
• PHP 7.4.33 - last release in PHP 7.3 branch which is now end of life - no more bug fixes or security updates. See PHP 7.4 End Of Life November 2022. If you're still using PHP 7.4.33, run cmupdate and re-run centmin.sh menu option 5 to recompile PHP 7.4.33 with backported security patch fixes.
• PHP 7.2.34 - last release in PHP 7.2 branch which is now end of life - no more bug fixes or security updates. If you're still using PHP 7.2.34, run cmupdate and re-run centmin.sh menu option 5 to recompile PHP 7.2.34 with backported security patch fixes.
• PHP 7.1.33 - last release in PHP 7.1 branch which is now end of life - no more bug fix or security updates. If you're still using PHP 7.1.33, run cmupdate and re-run centmin.sh menu option 5 to recompile PHP 7.1.33 with backported security patch fixes.
• PHP 7.0.33 - last release in PHP 7.0 branch which is now end of life - no more bug fix or security updates. If you're still using PHP 7.0.33, run cmupdate and re-run centmin.sh menu option 5 to recompile PHP 7.0.33 with backported security patch fixes.
  
• PHP 8.0.30, 7.4.33, 7.3.33, 7.2.34, 7.1.33, 7.0.33 & 5.6.40 are EOL as security and maintenance updates have ended. However, I have backported PHP 8.1+ security fixes to PHP 5.6, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4 and 8.0 branches for Centmin Mod 124.00stable/130.00beta01 and newer branches.

PHP Change logs for

• PHP 8.1.28 php/php-src
• PHP 8.2.18 php/php-src
• PHP 8.3.6 php/php-src

Updating PHP On Centmin Mod LEMP Stacks

• If you're on Centmin Mod 123.08stable and want PHP 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 8.0, or 8.1 support, you will need to update your server from Centmin Mod 123.08stable/123.09beta01 to either 124.00stable and 130.00beta01 first. If you want PHP 8.2/8.3 support only Centmin Mod 130.00beta01 will support that version.
  
  Code (Text):

  --------------------------------------------------------
         Centmin Mod Updater Sub-Menu           
  --------------------------------------------------------
  1). Setup Centmin Mod Github Environment
  2). Update Centmin Mod Current Branch
  3). Update Centmin Mod Newer Branch
  4). Exit
  --------------------------------------------------------
  Enter option [ 1 - 4 ] 3
  --------------------------------------------------------
  

• For Centmin Mod 124.00stable or 130.00beta01 and newer, first update to latest version code via SSH command = cmupdate (same equivalent to centmin.sh menu option 23 submenu option 2 method). Then run centmin.sh menu option 5 to update to either PHP versions 8.3.6, 8.2.18, 8.1.28, 8.0.30 or 7.4.33 .
• If you are on Centmin Mod 123.08stable and concerned about losing customisations when you upgrade to Centmin Mod 124.00stable or 130.00beta01, read this guide on how to upgrade and keep most of your customisations at How to upgrade Centmin Mod + backing up customisations.

Centmin Mod 130.00beta01 PHP Update Example

Code (Text):

--------------------------------------------------------
     Centmin Mod Menu 130.00beta01 centminmod.com
--------------------------------------------------------
1).  Centmin Install
2).  Add Nginx vhost domain
3).  NSD setup domain name DNS
4).  Nginx Upgrade / Downgrade
5).  PHP Upgrade / Downgrade
6).  Option Being Revised (TBA)
7).  Option Being Revised (TBA)
8).  Option Being Revised (TBA)
9).  Option Being Revised (TBA)
10). Memcached Server Re-install
11). MariaDB MySQL Upgrade & Management
12). Zend OpCache Install/Re-install
13). Install/Reinstall Redis PHP Extension
14). SELinux disable
15). Install/Reinstall ImagicK PHP Extension
16). Change SSHD Port Number
17). Multi-thread compression: zstd,pigz,pbzip2,lbzip2
18). Suhosin PHP Extension install
19). Install FFMPEG and FFMPEG PHP Extension
20). NSD Install/Re-Install
21). Data Transfer (TBA)
22). Add Wordpress Nginx vhost + Cache Plugin
23). Update Centmin Mod Code Base
24). Exit
--------------------------------------------------------
Enter option [ 1 - 24 ] 5

Code (Text):

PHP Upgrade/Downgrade - Would you like to continue? [y/n] y

----------------------------------------------------------------
Install which version of PHP? (i.e. 7.3.33, 7.4.33, 8.0.30, 8.1.28, 8.2.18, 8.3.6, NGDEBUG)
PHP 7.x/7.1.x/7.2.x/7.3.x is GA Stable but still may have broken PHP extensions.
NGDEBUG is PHP 8.4 dev builds minus incompatible PHP extensions
----------------------------------------------------------------

Current PHP Version: 8.2.17
Latest PHP Version Installable: 8.3.6, 8.2.18, 8.1.28, 8.0.30

Enter PHP Version number you want to upgrade/downgrade to: 8.3.6

Do you still want to continue? [y/n] y

----------------------------------------------------------------
existing php.ini will be backed up at /usr/local/lib/php.ini-oldversion_210424-210926
----------------------------------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Detected PHP 8.3 branch.
You can compile Zend OPcache (Zend Optimizer Plus+) support
as an alternative to using APC Cache or Xcache cache.
But Zend OPcache only provides PHP opcode cache and
DOESN'T do data caching, so if your web apps such as Wordpress,
Drupal or vBulletin require data caching to APC or Xcache,
it won't work with Zend OPcache.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you want to use Zend OPcache [y/n] ? y

Code (Text):

php -v
PHP 8.3.6 (cli) (built: Apr 21 2024 21:13:36) (NTS)
Copyright (c) The PHP Group
Zend Engine v4.3.6, Copyright (c) Zend Technologies
    with Zend OPcache v8.3.6, Copyright (c), by Zend Technologies

with Argon2 hash algorithm support and libsodium PHP extension

Code (Text):

php -r 'print_r(get_defined_constants());' | grep -i argon
    [PASSWORD_ARGON2I] => argon2i
    [PASSWORD_ARGON2ID] => argon2id
    [PASSWORD_ARGON2_DEFAULT_MEMORY_COST] => 65536
    [PASSWORD_ARGON2_DEFAULT_TIME_COST] => 4
    [PASSWORD_ARGON2_DEFAULT_THREADS] => 1
    [PASSWORD_ARGON2_PROVIDER] => standard
    [SODIUM_CRYPTO_PWHASH_ALG_ARGON2I13] => 1
    [SODIUM_CRYPTO_PWHASH_ALG_ARGON2ID13] => 2
    [SODIUM_CRYPTO_PWHASH_STRPREFIX] => $argon2id$

Code (Text):

php --ri sodium
sodium
sodium support => enabled
libsodium headers version => 1.0.18
libsodium library version => 1.0.18

PHP-FPM Upgrade Issues

---

If you have issues with PHP-FPM upgrades via Centmin Mod centmin.sh menu option 5, check your PHP upgrade logs for details https://community.centminmod.com/threads/how-to-troubleshoot-php-installs-upgrades.17857/

 

PHP Security Vulnerability Details

CVE-2024-3096 (CVSS: 4.8)
This vulnerability is related to password hashing and verification. It allows an attacker to potentially bypass password authentication on a system using password_hash. Here's how it works:

• When a user creates a password on a system, it's hashed using the password_hash function. This function generates a secure string that represents the password.
• When the user logs in, the entered password is hashed again and compared with the stored hash. If they match, the login is successful.

CVE-2024-3096 lies in the password_verify function, which might incorrectly return true due to how it handles passwords containing a null byte (character). An attacker could exploit this by crafting a username with a specially crafted password containing a null byte. If the system uses the vulnerable password_verify function, it might grant access even if the password doesn't match the stored hash. This can lead to account takeover (ATO).

To verify if your PHP version is patched, create a php-pass.php saved to Centmin Mod or web server web root that is configured to serve PHP files i.e. /usr/local/nginx/html/php-pass.php

In php-pass.php save this code

PHP:

<?php
error_reporting(E_ALL);
ini_set('display_errors', 1);

$pw = "\x00\x30";

try {
    $hash = password_hash($pw, PASSWORD_DEFAULT);
} catch (ValueError $e) {
    echo "Password hash creation failed on line " . $e->getLine() . ": " . $e->getMessage() . "\n";
    exit(1);
}

assert(password_verify('wrong', $hash) === false);
assert(password_verify('', $hash) === false);
assert(password_verify($pw, $hash) === true);
assert(password_verify(strrev($pw), $hash) === false);

PHP 5.6 - 7.4+ test expected patch fixed result should return an error for Bcrypt password must not contain null character

Code (Text):

cd /usr/local/nginx/html/
php php-pass.php
PHP Warning:  password_hash(): Bcrypt password must not contain null character in php-pass.php on line 6

PHP 8.3 test expected patch fixed result should return an error for Bcrypt password must not contain null character

Code (Text):

cd /usr/local/nginx/html/
php php-pass.php
Password hash creation failed on line 6: Bcrypt password must not contain null character

In an unpatched PHP version running php-pass.php will return empty result = you're vulnerable to CVE-2024-3096

CVE-2024-2756 (CVSS: Medium)
This vulnerability stems from an incomplete fix for a previous vulnerability (CVE-2022-31629) related to cookies. It allows a partial bypass of the cookie security measures.

Cookies are essential for various web functionalities like session management. They are data packets stored on the user's machine by the server.

Here's a simplified explanation of the issue:

• Cookies can be flagged with the __Host- and __Secure- attributes to enhance security. These attributes restrict how cookies can be used, mitigating certain attacks.
• CVE-2022-31629 had to do with these attributes not being implemented correctly. A patch was released to fix that vulnerability.
• However, CVE-2024-2756 indicates that the fix for CVE-2022-31629 was incomplete, potentially allowing attackers to bypass some of the cookie security measures again.

The severity of CVE-2024-2756 is rated as medium, so it's essential to address it promptly.

To verify for this proper patch against CVE-2024-2756, create a php-poc.php saved to Centmin Mod or web server web root that is configured to serve PHP files i.e. /usr/local/nginx/html/php-poc.php

PHP:

<?php
// php-poc.php

// Test the vulnerability
$vulnerableOutput = '{"__Host-x":"y"}';
$patchedOutput = '[]';

// Get the test cookie from $_COOKIE superglobal
$testOutput = json_encode($_COOKIE);

// Check the output
if ($testOutput === $vulnerableOutput) {
    echo "PHP version is not patched for CVE-2024-2756\n";
    echo "Vulnerability test output: " . $testOutput . "\n";
} elseif ($testOutput === $patchedOutput) {
    echo "PHP version is patched for CVE-2024-2756\n";
    echo "Patched test output: " . $testOutput . "\n";
} else {
    echo "Unexpected test output: " . $testOutput . "\n";
}
?>

Then run the curl command

Code (Text):

curl -b '_[Host-x=y' localhost/php-poc.php

On Centmin Mod locahost will call Centmin Mod Nginx main hostname nginx vhost at web root /usr/local/nginx/html. So curl request to localhost/php-poc.php is calling /usr/local/nginx/html/php-poc.php saved file.

patched fixed CVE-2024-2756 should return []

Code (Text):

curl -b '_[Host-x=y' localhost/php-poc.php
PHP version is patched for CVE-2024-2756
Patched test output: []

on unpatched CVE-2024-2756 vulnerable PHP version it would return {"__Host-x":"y"}

Code (Text):

curl -b '_[Host-x=y' localhost/php-poc.php
PHP version is not patched for CVE-2024-2756
Vulnerability test output: {"__Host-x":"y"}

This indicates that the cookie starting with _[Host- is treated as a __Host- cookie by the PHP application.