CVE-2018-15152 in OpenEMR
Summary
by MITRE
Authentication bypass vulnerability in portal/account/register.php in versions of OpenEMR before 5.0.1.4 allows a remote attacker to access (1) portal/add_edit_event_user.php, (2) portal/find_appt_popup_user.php, (3) portal/get_allergies.php, (4) portal/get_amendments.php, (5) portal/get_lab_results.php, (6) portal/get_medications.php, (7) portal/get_patient_documents.php, (8) portal/get_problems.php, (9) portal/get_profile.php, (10) portal/portal_payment.php, (11) portal/messaging/messages.php, (12) portal/messaging/secure_chat.php, (13) portal/report/pat_ledger.php, (14) portal/report/portal_custom_report.php, or (15) portal/report/portal_patient_report.php without authenticating as a patient.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/29/2025
The CVE-2018-15152 vulnerability represents a critical authentication bypass flaw in the OpenEMR healthcare management system affecting versions prior to 5.0.1.4. This vulnerability resides within the portal/account/register.php component and fundamentally undermines the system's access control mechanisms by allowing unauthenticated remote attackers to gain unauthorized access to multiple patient-facing portal functionalities. The flaw demonstrates a classic failure in input validation and session management where the system fails to properly verify user credentials before granting access to sensitive medical data and portal operations. This vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and authentication requirements that are fundamental to healthcare information security.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate validation of user authentication status within the registration and account management pathways. Attackers can exploit this flaw by directly accessing the listed portal endpoints without providing valid patient credentials, effectively circumventing the intended authentication flow. The vulnerability affects a comprehensive set of medical data access points including appointment scheduling functions, medical record retrieval systems, messaging platforms, and financial transaction processing modules. This broad scope of impacted functionality indicates a systemic flaw in the application's security architecture rather than an isolated component issue.
Operationally, this vulnerability presents a severe risk to patient privacy and healthcare data integrity as it enables unauthorized access to sensitive medical information including allergies, medications, lab results, and patient problems. The compromised endpoints include not only basic patient profile access but also financial transaction processing through portal_payment.php and secure messaging systems through secure_chat.php. This exposure creates potential for data breaches, identity theft, and unauthorized medical record modifications that could significantly impact patient care and healthcare provider liability. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means attackers can leverage this flaw from any network location without requiring physical access to the system infrastructure.
The security implications extend beyond immediate data access to encompass potential lateral movement within healthcare networks and compliance violations under regulations such as HIPAA. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-287 which addresses improper authentication issues, and maps to ATT&CK technique T1110 which covers credential access through various exploitation methods. Organizations utilizing affected OpenEMR versions face increased risk of regulatory penalties, legal liability, and reputational damage from potential data breaches. The vulnerability's classification as a remote authentication bypass places it in the highest risk category for healthcare information systems where patient data protection is paramount. Immediate remediation through patch updates is essential to prevent exploitation and maintain compliance with healthcare security standards.