CVE-2016-6618 in phpMyAdmin
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in phpMyAdmin. The transformation feature allows a user to trigger a denial-of-service (DoS) attack against the server. All 4.6.x versions (prior to 4.6.4), 4.4.x versions (prior to 4.4.15.8), and 4.0.x versions (prior to 4.0.10.17) are affected.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/05/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-6618 represents a critical denial-of-service weakness within phpMyAdmin, a widely deployed web-based database management tool that serves as the de facto standard interface for administering mysql and mariadb databases across countless web hosting environments and enterprise systems. This flaw specifically resides within the transformation feature of phpMyAdmin, which is designed to allow users to apply various data formatting and transformation functions to database fields during display operations. The issue affects multiple version streams including 4.6.x prior to 4.6.4, 4.4.x prior to 4.4.15.8, and 4.0.x prior to 4.0.10.17, indicating a prolonged period of exposure across the software's release cycle. The vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and processing within the transformation handling mechanism, where maliciously crafted transformation parameters can cause the application to enter an infinite loop or consume excessive system resources during the transformation process. This flaw operates at the application layer and can be exploited by authenticated users who possess the necessary privileges to access the transformation features, making it particularly dangerous in environments where database administrators and developers maintain access to phpMyAdmin interfaces. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-400, which catalogs weaknesses related to resource exhaustion, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1499.004 for network denial of service attacks. The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple service disruption, as it can effectively render entire phpMyAdmin interfaces unusable, potentially affecting database administration tasks and causing cascading effects throughout applications that depend on database connectivity. Attackers can leverage this weakness to perform sustained DoS attacks against phpMyAdmin instances, leading to complete service unavailability for legitimate users. The exploitation process involves crafting specific transformation parameters that trigger resource exhaustion conditions within the phpMyAdmin processing pipeline, where the application fails to properly terminate transformation operations or validate the complexity of transformation requests. Organizations running affected versions of phpMyAdmin face significant risk as this vulnerability can be exploited by both internal threat actors with database access privileges and external attackers who gain access to legitimate accounts. The vulnerability's presence in multiple major version streams indicates that it was not properly addressed during the software's development lifecycle, highlighting gaps in security testing and code review processes. When exploited, the vulnerability can cause phpMyAdmin processes to consume excessive cpu cycles and memory resources, potentially leading to system crashes or severe performance degradation that affects not only the phpMyAdmin interface but also underlying database services. The remediation approach requires immediate application of security patches to upgrade to versions 4.6.4, 4.4.15.8, or 4.0.10.17 respectively, which contain the necessary fixes to properly validate transformation parameters and implement resource limits. Additional mitigations include implementing access controls to restrict transformation feature usage, monitoring for unusual transformation request patterns, and deploying intrusion detection systems to identify potential exploitation attempts. Organizations should also consider implementing application firewalls and rate limiting mechanisms to prevent abuse of the transformation functionality, as well as conducting comprehensive security assessments of their database management interfaces to identify similar vulnerabilities in other web applications. The vulnerability demonstrates the importance of proper input validation and resource management in web applications, particularly those handling user-provided data transformation parameters. Given the widespread deployment of phpMyAdmin across both commercial and open source environments, this vulnerability represents a significant security concern that requires immediate attention from system administrators and security teams responsible for database infrastructure protection. The flaw's impact is amplified by phpMyAdmin's role as a critical administrative interface, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to disrupt database operations and potentially gain further access to underlying systems through service disruption attacks.