CVE-2006-6888: P-News 1.16 and 1.17 store sensitive information under the web root with insufficient access control, which al

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MEDIUM 5.0DOWNGRADE

CVE-2006-6888 is a medium-severity flaw (CVSS 5.0) affecting p-news. Below: why it ranks where it does, which versions are affected, what to do, and the exact commands.

P-News 1.16 and 1.17 store sensitive information under the web root with insufficient access control, which allows remote attackers to obtain the administrative account name and password hash via a direct request for db/user.dat.

Why this priority

Public exploit reference

No fix is published yet: follow the downgrade or mitigation steps.

Risk facts

CVSS score	5.0 (Medium)
EPSS exploit chance	2.4% (top 16%)
CISA exploited list	No
Published	2006-12-31
Last modified	2026-06-16

Publisher (CNA): MITRE · Vendor: p-news

Last updated 2026-06-16 · Sources: CVE Program, NVD, CISA KEV, EPSS and vendor advisories · How we score

Am I affected?

Timeline

2006-12-31 05:00 UTCPublished CVE record published
2026-06-16 22:33 UTCUpdated Record last modified

p-news p-news DOWNGRADE

Affected: 1.16 · 1.17

Fixed in: no fixed release known

Safe to downgrade to: a release before 1.16

1. Check installed version

apt-cache policy p-news || rpm -q p-news || p-news --version

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE to a release before 1.16 (Debian / Ubuntu)

apt-cache madison p-news sudo apt install p-news=<VERSION_BEFORE_1.16> sudo apt-mark hold p-news

2. No fixed release: DOWNGRADE (RHEL / Amazon Linux / Fedora)

dnf --showduplicates list p-news sudo dnf downgrade p-news-<VERSION_BEFORE_1.16> sudo dnf versionlock add p-news

Downgrade risk

Downgrading can break dependent software and may reopen older bugs. Read the distro advisory first and test on a non-production host.

After downgrade

Restart the service, and keep the package held until a fixed release ships.

Public exploits and detection

Public code exists for this CVE. Treat unpatched systems as at risk, and only run PoCs in a lab.

Exploit-DB: P-News 1.16/1.17 - 'user.dat' Remote Password Disclosure

Verify at the official source NVD · CVE Program · Report a problem with this page
Scores and fixes here are computed automatically from those and other public sources. Confirm with the vendor advisory before changing production systems.

Quick answers

How do I fix CVE-2006-6888?

p-news: downgrade or apply the listed mitigation. Exact commands for each OS are on this page.

Is CVE-2006-6888 being exploited?

CVE-2006-6888 is not on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list at the time of the last update. Check again, as this can change.

What does CVE-2006-6888 affect?

CVE-2006-6888 affects p-news. Severity is medium (CVSS 5.0). P-News 1.16 and 1.17 store sensitive information under the web root with insufficient access control, which allows remote attackers to obtain the administrative account name and password hash via a direct request for db/user.dat.

How urgent is CVE-2006-6888?

Priority 44/100. Public exploit reference

Related CVEs

CVE-2006-7114 MEDIUM 5.0 UPGRADE P-News 2.0 stores db/user.txt under the web document root with insufficient access control, which allows remot
CVE-2006-7113 HIGH 7.5 UPGRADE Unrestricted file upload vulnerability in P-News 2.0 allows remote attackers to upload and execute arbitrary f
CVE-2006-5434 HIGH 7.5 DOWNGRADE PHP remote file inclusion vulnerability in p-news.php in P-News 1.16 and 1.17 allows remote attackers to execu

References

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