# CVE-2026-109618 / CVE-2026-109619: Full RCE via OOM Bailout + Heap Spray

Remote code execution in PHP's session upload progress handler, exploitable
over plain HTTP against Apache mod_php with **completely stock configuration**.
No LFI, no framework dependency, no non-default PHP settings required.

## Affected versions

PHP 5.4.0 through 8.3.35, 8.4.0 through 8.4.26, 8.5.0 through 8.5.11,
running under Apache mod_php with prefork MPM.

Patched in PHP 8.3.36, 8.4.27, 8.5.12.

PHP-FPM is **not vulnerable**: FPM workers exit on bailout (code 70),
so stale state never persists across requests.

## What this exploit achieves

Full remote code execution (arbitrary command) from a single unauthenticated
HTTP client, against any PHP-handled URL, with full ASLR bypass. The target
page does not need `session_start()` or any specific code.

Tested: 5/5 successful RCE against stock `php:8.4.26-apache` Docker image
with zero configuration changes (`memory_limit=128M`, `post_max_size=8M`,
`display_errors=On`, `MaxRequestWorkers=150`).

## Prerequisites

All of these are default on stock PHP Docker images and common Debian/Ubuntu
Apache + mod_php installations:

- Apache mod_php with prefork MPM
- `session.upload_progress.enabled = 1` (default: on)
- `session.upload_progress.cleanup = 1` (default: on)
- Any PHP-handled URL (even a 404 error page)
- `display_errors = On` or `STDOUT` (default when no php.ini is deployed)

The exploit bypasses PHP's `post_max_size` limit via HTTP chunked
Transfer-Encoding (see below), so the `post_max_size=8M` default is not
an obstacle despite needing to send ~140MB to exhaust `memory_limit=128M`.

For multi-worker Apache (the default), the `--workers N` spray mode sends
the OOM trigger to all workers before probing for the leak.

## How it works

### The vulnerability chain

**CVE-2026-109618**: When `memory_limit` is exceeded during multipart POST
parsing, PHP calls `zend_bailout()` which executes a `longjmp` back to
the request shutdown handler. This skips session cleanup code in
`php_session_rfc1867_update()`, leaving `PS(id)` as a dangling pointer
and `PS(send_cookie) = 1`.

**CVE-2026-109619**: On the next request to the same Apache worker,
`sapi_activate()` runs the RFC1867 callback BEFORE session state is
properly reinitialized. The callback sees the stale `PS(id)` and
`PS(send_cookie) = 1`, and calls `php_session_send_cookie()` with the
dangling pointer. The `php_url_encode(PS(id))` call reads heap memory
through the stale pointer and emits it as a `Set-Cookie` header.

### post_max_size bypass via chunked Transfer-Encoding

PHP checks `Content-Length` against `post_max_size` before invoking the
multipart parser. If `Content-Length` exceeds the limit, the body is
rejected entirely. However, when the request uses `Transfer-Encoding:
chunked` instead of `Content-Length`, no upfront size check occurs.
PHP's `sapi_read_post_block()` reads chunked data from Apache's input
filter chain without enforcing `post_max_size`, allowing the full body
to be processed regardless of the configured limit.

This means the exploit works against `memory_limit=128M` with
`post_max_size=8M` by sending ~140MB of chunked POST data.

### Three-stage exploit (full ASLR bypass)

All traffic is plain HTTP multipart POST requests:

**Stage 1: Heap ASLR bypass (Zend MM chunk base)**

Request A sends 1001+ fields (triggering `max_input_vars` warning which
sets `SG(headers_sent) = 1`) plus `PHPSESSID=\x00` and
`PHP_SESSION_UPLOAD_PROGRESS=pwn` (to activate session handling) plus a
large field via chunked TE to trigger OOM. The warning output prevents
`php_session_send_cookie()` from sending the cookie, but `PS(send_cookie)`
remains 1 and `PS(id)` becomes a dangling pointer.

Request B sends `PHPSESSID` + progress fields plus ~841 filler fields
with a forge field containing a fake `zend_string` header (`len = 0x1000`).
The filler fields' heap allocations overlap the dangling `PS(id)` address.
When `php_session_send_cookie()` runs with the stale pointer, it reads
4096 bytes of heap data and emits it as a `Set-Cookie` value. The leaked
bytes contain Zend MM free-list pointers, which reveal the chunk base
address (2MB aligned).

**Stage 2: Code ASLR bypass (libphp.so base)**

Similar to stage 1, but request B's field layout places a real PHP
`HashTable` structure at the dangling pointer offset. The `pDestructor`
field of the HashTable is a function pointer into libphp.so
(`zval_ptr_dtor`). Reading this via `Set-Cookie` leaks the libphp.so
load address.

**Stage 3: RCE (zif_system)**

Request A poisons the worker with stale session state. Request B sprays
the heap with a fake `IS_REFERENCE` zval pointing to a fake `HashTable`
whose `pDestructor = zif_system`. When session cleanup calls
`zend_hash_destroy()` on this fake table, it invokes `zif_system()` with
attacker-controlled arguments, executing an arbitrary shell command as
the web server user (`www-data`).

## Usage

```bash
# Auto-detect PHP version, look up offsets, exploit
python3 rce_exploit.py -u http://target/index.php

# Auto-pull matching Docker image for offset extraction
python3 rce_exploit.py -u http://target/index.php --auto-pull

# Verify RCE via docker exec (for testing)
python3 rce_exploit.py -u http://target/index.php \
  --docker-proof CONTAINER /tmp/pwn

# Multi-worker Apache spray mode
python3 rce_exploit.py -u http://target/ --workers 150

# Custom command (max 14 bytes, use 'sh</tmp/c' for longer)
python3 rce_exploit.py -u http://target/ -c 'id>/tmp/pwn'

# Extract offsets for a new PHP build
python3 rce_exploit.py calibrate --docker-image php:8.3.35-apache \
  --php-version 8.3.35
```

### Options

| Flag | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `-u URL` | (required) | Target URL (any PHP endpoint) |
| `-c CMD` | `id>/tmp/pwn` | Shell command (max 14 bytes) |
| `--workers N` | 1 | Apache workers to spray |
| `--huge-mb N` | 140 | OOM field size in MB |
| `--docker-proof C P` | | Verify via `docker exec C cat P` |
| `--auto-pull` | off | Pull Docker image for offset extraction |
| `--retries N` | 5 | Attempts per stage |
| `--profile` | auto | Heap profile (`bookworm` or `lab`) |
| `--timeout` | 30.0 | Socket timeout in seconds |

### Built-in offset database

| PHP version | Distro | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 8.4.26 | bookworm | Last vulnerable 8.4.x |
| 8.3.35 | bookworm | Last vulnerable 8.3.x |
| 8.4.27 | bookworm | Patched (offsets extracted, bypass not implemented) |
| 8.3.36 | bookworm | Patched (offsets extracted, bypass not implemented) |

## The patch

The fix (PHP 8.3.36, 8.4.27, 8.5.12) adds five independent defense
layers. Any one of the first three alone is sufficient to block the attack:

1. **`php_rinit_session_globals()` at `MULTIPART_EVENT_START`**: The
   session RFC1867 callback now calls `php_rinit_session_globals()` at
   the very start of multipart parsing, unconditionally zeroing `PS(id)`,
   `PS(session_status)`, and `PS(send_cookie)`. This destroys the
   dangling `PS(id)` from the previous request before B's parsing begins.
   This single defense is sufficient to kill the entire exploit chain.

2. **Delayed OOM**: `zend_mm_safe_error` (which called `zend_bailout` /
   longjmp) is replaced by `zend_mm_delayed_verror`. OOM no longer
   triggers a longjmp during allocation. Instead, a soft limit records
   the error and sets `vm_interrupt`. Allocations return NULL in fallible
   mode or succeed up to a hard limit (default 200% of `memory_limit`).
   A hard limit calls `_exit(137)`. No longjmp means all cleanup code
   runs normally, so stale state never persists.

3. **`post_max_size` enforcement in `multipart_buffer_fill()`**: A new
   check in `fill_buffer()` enforces `post_max_size` against
   `SG(read_post_bytes)` regardless of Transfer-Encoding. The chunked TE
   bypass (which previously allowed sending 140MB despite 8M limit) is
   blocked. OOM cannot be triggered via multipart data alone.

4. **`php_basic_early_rinit()`**: Called from `php_request_startup()`
   before `sapi_activate()`. Zeros `BG(serialize_lock)`, `BG(serialize)`,
   and `BG(unserialize)`, eliminating the stale serialization state
   window from CVE-2026-109618.

5. **Session deserialization hardening**: RFC1867 session decode runs in
   `incomplete_classes_only` mode (no `__wakeup`/`__unserialize`).
   `$_SESSION` is deleted at `MULTIPART_EVENT_END`. A `PG(modules_activated)`
   guard prevents `request_parse_body()` from corrupting session state.

## Test environment

The `docker/` directory contains a minimal test setup:

```bash
cd docker && docker compose up -d
# Stock settings variant (no custom php.ini):
docker run -d --name stock -p 8093:80 php:8.4.26-apache
```

The exploit has been tested on:
- `php:8.4.26-apache` stock Docker image, 5/5 RCE (default settings)
- `php:8.4.26-apache` with single worker + `memory_limit=8M`, 9/9 RCE
- `php:8.3.35-apache` stock Docker image, RCE confirmed (first attempt)
- `php:8.4.26-apache` + WordPress 6.8.1 (no php.ini), 5/5 RCE (first attempt each)
- `php:8.4.27-apache` patched: all three exploit primitives blocked (see below)

## display_errors and WordPress

The exploit's info leak (stages 1 and 2) relies on `display_errors = On`.
The `max_input_vars` warning must produce visible output to set
`SG(headers_sent) = 1` before the session cookie attempt, which causes
`php_session_send_cookie()` to fail and leaves `PS(send_cookie) = 1` for
the next request's leak.

With `display_errors = Off`, the warning is logged but produces no output.
The session cookie succeeds, `PS(send_cookie)` resets to 0, and no leak
cookie is emitted on the subsequent request.

**Why stock PHP is still vulnerable**: PHP's compile-time default for
`display_errors` is `On`. Stock Docker images (`php:*-apache`) ship
without a `php.ini`, so the default applies. Only when a system
administrator deploys `php.ini-production` (which sets `display_errors = Off`)
or adds explicit INI configuration is the target hardened against this leak.

**WordPress**: WordPress calls `ini_set('display_errors', 0)` at runtime
in `wp-settings.php`. This `ini_set` executes during script startup, which
is AFTER multipart POST parsing (where the OOM and session leak occur).
Therefore, WordPress installed on a stock PHP image (no `php.ini`)
is vulnerable, because `display_errors` is still `On` at the time the
exploit code path runs. The official `wordpress:*` Docker images ship
a custom `error-logging.ini` that sets `display_errors = Off` at the INI
level, which does block the leak.

**Why display_errors=Off cannot be bypassed**: The info leak requires
`SG(headers_sent) = 1` before `php_session_send_cookie()` runs during
`MULTIPART_EVENT_FILE_START`. The only code path that sets
`SG(headers_sent)` during multipart parsing is the error display path
(`php_error_cb` -> `zend_write` -> `sapi_module.ub_write`), which is
gated on `display_errors`. With `display_errors = Off`, warnings go to
the error log only, producing no output. There is no alternative
mechanism to force HTTP output during multipart parsing: the SAPI write
function is the only path, and it requires display_errors or explicit
script output (which has not started yet at this stage of request
processing). Precision OOM calibration (attempting to trigger OOM inside
the ~500-byte `php_session_send_cookie` window) was tested and fails
due to Zend MM bin-size boundaries causing ~1MB allocation jumps that
cannot be calibrated to the required precision.

## References

- CVE-2026-109618: OOM during multipart parsing triggers longjmp past session cleanup
- CVE-2026-109619: Session globals (PS(id), PS(send_cookie)) survive across requests
- CVSS: 9.2 (both CVEs, per Rapid7)