CVE-2018-19970 in phpMyAdmin
Summary
by MITRE
In phpMyAdmin before 4.8.4, an XSS vulnerability was found in the navigation tree, where an attacker can deliver a payload to a user through a crafted database/table name.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/18/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-19970 represents a cross-site scripting flaw within phpMyAdmin version 4.8.3 and earlier, specifically affecting the navigation tree component of the web-based database management interface. This security weakness resides in how the application processes and displays database and table names within its user interface, creating an avenue for malicious actors to inject harmful scripts that execute in the context of other users' browsers. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because phpMyAdmin is widely deployed across organizations for database administration tasks, making it a prime target for attackers seeking to exploit user sessions and gain unauthorized access to sensitive data. The flaw allows attackers to craft malicious database or table names that, when displayed in the navigation tree, trigger XSS payloads in the victim's browser.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and output sanitization within the phpMyAdmin codebase. When users navigate through database structures, the application displays database and table names in the left-hand navigation tree, but fails to properly escape or sanitize these identifiers before rendering them in HTML contexts. This creates an environment where crafted Unicode characters or special sequences in database/table names can be interpreted as executable JavaScript code rather than plain text. The vulnerability specifically affects the navigation tree rendering mechanism, which processes user-provided identifiers without adequate security controls to prevent malicious code injection. According to CWE classification, this represents a CWE-79: Cross-site Scripting vulnerability, which is categorized under the broader category of injection flaws. The flaw manifests when an attacker creates a database or table with a specially crafted name containing malicious script content that gets executed when other users browse the navigation tree.
The operational impact of CVE-2018-19970 extends beyond simple script execution, as it can enable attackers to perform session hijacking, steal authentication tokens, redirect users to malicious sites, or even execute arbitrary commands on the target system. When a victim user accesses the phpMyAdmin interface and views the navigation tree containing the maliciously crafted names, their browser executes the injected JavaScript code, potentially leading to complete compromise of their session and access to all database resources available to that user. This vulnerability is particularly dangerous in multi-user environments where administrators with elevated privileges use phpMyAdmin for database management, as successful exploitation could provide attackers with access to sensitive production databases containing personal information, financial records, or proprietary business data. The attack requires minimal privileges to set up, as attackers only need to create database or table names with malicious payloads, making it an attractive vector for both external attackers and malicious insiders. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to T1059.007: Command and Scripting Interpreter: JavaScript, and T1531: Account Access Removal, as it enables unauthorized access to user sessions and database resources.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-19970 focus primarily on upgrading to phpMyAdmin version 4.8.4 or later, which includes patches addressing the XSS vulnerability in the navigation tree component. Organizations should also implement additional security measures such as input validation at the application level, output encoding for all user-provided data displayed in web interfaces, and regular security assessments of web applications. Network-level protections including web application firewalls and content security policies can provide additional defense-in-depth layers to prevent exploitation attempts. Administrators should also consider implementing least-privilege access controls, regular monitoring of database creation activities, and user education about the risks of interacting with untrusted database objects. The vulnerability underscores the importance of proper input sanitization and output encoding practices, particularly in web applications that handle user-provided identifiers and display them in HTML contexts. Organizations should also conduct regular vulnerability assessments and maintain updated security patches to protect against similar injection vulnerabilities in other web applications and components.