CVE-2016-9861 in phpMyAdmin
Summary
by MITRE
An issue was discovered in phpMyAdmin. Due to the limitation in URL matching, it was possible to bypass the URL white-list protection. All 4.6.x versions (prior to 4.6.5), 4.4.x versions (prior to 4.4.15.9), and 4.0.x versions (prior to 4.0.10.18) are affected.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/05/2022
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-9861 represents a critical security flaw in phpMyAdmin that undermines the application's URL white-list protection mechanism. This issue stems from insufficient validation logic in the URL matching implementation, allowing malicious actors to circumvent intended access controls and potentially gain unauthorized access to database management functionalities. The vulnerability affects multiple major version branches including 4.6.x prior to 4.6.5, 4.4.x prior to 4.4.15.9, and 4.0.x prior to 4.0.10.18, indicating a widespread impact across the phpMyAdmin user base. The flaw specifically targets the application's security controls designed to prevent arbitrary URL access, creating a pathway for attackers to exploit the system's trust model.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which describes improper access control mechanisms, and demonstrates how inadequate input validation can lead to privilege escalation or unauthorized access scenarios. The URL white-list protection mechanism in phpMyAdmin is intended to restrict access to specific endpoints and prevent attackers from navigating to potentially dangerous or unauthorized pages within the application. However, the implementation flaw allows attackers to craft URLs that bypass these restrictions through clever manipulation of the URL matching logic, effectively rendering the security controls ineffective. This type of vulnerability falls under the ATT&CK technique T1078 which encompasses legitimate credentials and valid accounts as a means of gaining access to systems.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple access control bypass, as it could potentially enable attackers to perform administrative actions within the phpMyAdmin interface. This includes but is not limited to database enumeration, data extraction, schema modification, and potentially even database corruption or deletion operations. The vulnerability's exploitation requires minimal technical skill and can be automated, making it particularly dangerous for organizations that rely on phpMyAdmin for database administration without additional network-level security controls. Organizations with exposed phpMyAdmin installations on public networks face significant risk of unauthorized database access and potential data breaches.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2016-9861 primarily involve immediate patching of affected phpMyAdmin installations to the latest available versions that contain the necessary security fixes. System administrators should also implement additional network-level controls such as firewall rules to restrict access to phpMyAdmin interfaces, particularly when deployed on publicly accessible servers. The implementation of multi-factor authentication and network segmentation can provide additional layers of protection. Organizations should conduct thorough security assessments of their phpMyAdmin deployments to identify and remediate similar access control vulnerabilities. Regular security monitoring and vulnerability scanning should be implemented to detect any potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of robust input validation and access control mechanisms in web applications, as well as the necessity of maintaining up-to-date software versions to protect against known security flaws.