#VU40215 Code Injection in phpMyAdmin - CVE-2016-5734

Vulnerability identifier: #VU40215

Vulnerability risk: High

CVSSv4.0: 9.3 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:A/U:Amber]

CVE-ID: CVE-2016-5734

CWE-ID: CWE-94

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: Yes

Vulnerable software:
phpMyAdmin
Web applications / Remote management & hosting panels

Vendor: phpMyAdmin

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote non-authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code.

phpMyAdmin 4.0.x before 4.0.10.16, 4.4.x before 4.4.15.7, and 4.6.x before 4.6.3 does not properly choose delimiters to prevent use of the preg_replace e (aka eval) modifier, which might allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary PHP code via a crafted string, as demonstrated by the table search-and-replace implementation.

Mitigation
Install update from vendor's website.

Vulnerable software versions

phpMyAdmin: 4.0.0 - 4.0.10.15, 4.4.0 - 4.4.15.6, 4.6.0 - 4.6.2

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External links
https://www.securityfocus.com/bid/91387
https://github.com/phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin/commit/1cc7466db3a05e95fe57a6702f41773e6829d54b
https://github.com/phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin/commit/4bcc606225f15bac0b07780e74f667f6ac283da7
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201701-32
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40185/
https://www.phpmyadmin.net/security/PMASA-2016-27/

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability. However, a fully functional exploit for this vulnerability is available.