A specific exploit (nicknamed "746") targets the XAMPP Control Panel's sendFeedback() function. If the control panel is exposed remotely (via port 8080 by default), an attacker injects a command via the $email parameter, writing a PowerShell script into the startup folder.
The exploit typically begins with a Local File Inclusion (LFI) or an insecure file upload vulnerability in a web application hosted on the stack. Attackers utilize a PHP script, often referred to as a "web shell" (such as the infamous c99 or r57 shells), which they upload to the server. Because the Apache process has write permissions to the web directories—another default misconfiguration—the attacker can place this malicious file onto the server. xampp for windows 746 exploit
Running XAMPP for Windows 7.4.6 in a production or internet-facing environment is considered highly unsafe due to the lack of official support for PHP 7.4. CVE-2024-0338 Detail - NVD A specific exploit (nicknamed "746") targets the XAMPP