CVE-2024-52301: Laravel Framework Environment Manipulation

CVE-2024-52301 Overview

CVE-2024-52301 is a high-severity environment manipulation vulnerability affecting the Laravel web application framework. When the register_argc_argv PHP directive is enabled, attackers can craft malicious query strings that allow them to manipulate the environment used by the framework during request handling. This argument injection vulnerability (CWE-88) enables unauthorized modification of application behavior through specially crafted HTTP requests.

Critical Impact

Attackers can manipulate Laravel's environment detection mechanism via crafted query strings, potentially bypassing security controls, accessing debug information, or altering application behavior by forcing production applications to operate in development mode.

Affected Products

• Laravel Framework versions prior to 6.20.45
• Laravel Framework versions 7.x prior to 7.30.7
• Laravel Framework versions 8.x prior to 8.83.28
• Laravel Framework versions 9.x prior to 9.52.17
• Laravel Framework versions 10.x prior to 10.48.23
• Laravel Framework versions 11.x prior to 11.31.0
• Debian Linux 11.0

Discovery Timeline

• November 12, 2024 - CVE-2024-52301 published to NVD
• August 26, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-52301

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability exploits Laravel's environment detection mechanism that relies on PHP's argv values. Under normal CLI operation, Laravel uses command-line arguments to determine the application environment. However, when the register_argc_argv PHP directive is set to on in web-facing configurations, the framework incorrectly processes query string parameters as if they were command-line arguments.

The root issue lies in how Laravel's application bootstrapping process handles environment detection across different Server API (SAPI) contexts. The framework failed to distinguish between legitimate CLI invocations and web requests where argv values could be attacker-controlled through crafted query strings.

Root Cause

The vulnerability stems from improper input validation in Laravel's environment detection logic. When register_argc_argv is enabled in php.ini, PHP populates the $_SERVER['argv'] array with query string components during web requests. Laravel's bootstrap process would then inadvertently use these attacker-supplied values to determine the application environment, without verifying the execution context was actually a CLI environment.

This represents a classic argument injection vulnerability (CWE-88) where user-controlled input is inappropriately processed as trusted command-line arguments.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-accessible and requires no authentication or user interaction. An attacker can exploit this vulnerability by sending HTTP requests with specially crafted query strings to any Laravel application where register_argc_argv is enabled.

The exploitation mechanism involves appending environment override parameters to the query string, which Laravel's bootstrap process interprets as legitimate environment configuration directives. This allows attackers to potentially force a production application into debug mode, access sensitive configuration information, or bypass environment-specific security controls.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-52301

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual query string patterns in web server access logs containing environment-related parameters such as --env= or similar CLI-style arguments
• Application behavior inconsistencies suggesting environment switching, such as debug information appearing in production responses
• Error messages or stack traces being exposed in responses that should be suppressed in production environments
• Unexpected changes in application logging behavior or verbosity levels

Detection Strategies

• Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block requests containing CLI-style argument patterns in query strings
• Monitor application logs for environment detection anomalies or unexpected environment value changes during request processing
• Deploy runtime application self-protection (RASP) solutions to detect environment manipulation attempts
• Review PHP configuration across all servers to identify instances where register_argc_argv is enabled

Monitoring Recommendations

• Configure alerting for requests containing suspicious query string patterns that resemble command-line arguments
• Monitor for sudden changes in application error handling behavior that might indicate environment manipulation
• Implement centralized logging to correlate potential exploitation attempts across multiple application instances
• Track Laravel application environment values during request lifecycle for unauthorized changes

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-52301

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade Laravel Framework to a patched version: 6.20.45, 7.30.7, 8.83.28, 9.52.17, 10.48.23, or 11.31.0 depending on your major version
• Verify and disable the register_argc_argv PHP directive in production web server configurations if not required
• Review application logs for evidence of prior exploitation attempts using CLI-style query string parameters
• Audit all Laravel installations in your environment to identify vulnerable versions

Patch Information

Laravel has released security patches across all supported major versions. The fix ensures the framework ignores argv values for environment detection when running under non-CLI SAPIs (such as Apache, Nginx with PHP-FPM, etc.). Organizations should upgrade to the following minimum versions:

For complete patch details, refer to the GitHub Security Advisory. Debian users should consult the Debian LTS Announcement for distribution-specific guidance.

Workarounds

• Disable register_argc_argv in your PHP configuration by setting register_argc_argv = Off in php.ini for web server PHP contexts
• Implement web application firewall rules to filter requests containing suspicious CLI-style arguments in query strings
• Use environment variable-based configuration exclusively rather than relying on Laravel's automatic environment detection
• Deploy reverse proxy rules to sanitize or reject requests with malformed query string patterns

# PHP configuration to disable register_argc_argv
# Add to php.ini for web server contexts (Apache/PHP-FPM)
register_argc_argv = Off

# Verify the setting is disabled
php -i | grep register_argc_argv