To secure a XAMPP 7.4.6 installation, follow these steps immediately:
Search query on Shodan back in 2020: "X-Powered-By: PHP/7.4.6" "XAMPP" xampp for windows 746 exploit
Version 7.4.6 was released during a period when these unquoted path issues were being heavily audited by security researchers, leading to several documented "Proof of Concept" (PoC) scripts being published on platforms like Exploit-DB. Mitigation and Lessons The fix for this specific exploit is straightforward: To secure a XAMPP 7
Avoid installing XAMPP in the root directory or directories where non-admin users have write permissions. XAMPP 7
The primary fix for this version is to manually wrap the service paths in double quotes via the Windows Registry Editor (regedit) or using the
: Avoid installing XAMPP in directories with spaces or on the root of the drive if permissions cannot be strictly controlled. XAMPP 7.4.3 - Local Privilege Escalation - Exploit-DB 27 Sept 2021 —