CVE-2016-5734: Phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin PhpMyAdmin Code Injection Vulnerability Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-rv57-479x-x4qv
Share
CVSS 9.8
CWE-94
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2016-5734 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) phpmyadmin code injection vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')) affecting Phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves phpmyadmin code injection vulnerability. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 4.0.10.16, 4.4.15.7, 4.6.3.

CVE-2016-5734 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2016-5734
GHSA Identifier GHSA-rv57-479x-x4qv
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
Affected Product Phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2016-5734

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin fixed: 4.0.10.16 
Upgrade phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin to 4.0.10.16
phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin fixed: 4.4.15.7 
Upgrade phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin to 4.4.15.7
phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin fixed: 4.6.3 
Upgrade phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin to 4.6.3
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2016-5734, inspect your project dependencies for Phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin:

inspect dependencies for phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 4.0.10.16), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection'), where the product constructs all or part of a code segment using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the syntax or behavior of the intended code segment. In Phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

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.

CVE-2016-5734 Affected Phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin Versions

3 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
4.0.10.164.4.15.74.6.3
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin
 Packagist
≥ 4.0.10.0
< 4.0.10.16
4.0.10.16
phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin
 Packagist
≥ 4.4.15.0
< 4.4.15.7
4.4.15.7
phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin
 Packagist
≥ 4.6.0
< 4.6.3
4.6.3

References

NVD — CVE-2016-5734 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-5734
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin/commit/1cc7466db3a05e95fe57a6702f41773e6829d54b
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin/commit/4bcc606225f15bac0b07780e74f667f6ac283da7
Phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin
Phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin Security Information SECURITY
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201701-32
Phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin Security Information SECURITY
https://web.archive.org/web/20200227223418/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/91387
www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40185 WEB
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40185
Phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin Security Information SECURITY
https://www.phpmyadmin.net/security/PMASA-2016-27

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2016-5734?
CVE-2016-5734 is a security vulnerability in Phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin involving phpMyAdmin Code Injection vulnerability under CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection').
Which Phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 4.0.10.16, 4.4.15.7, 4.6.3 across affected packages: phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin.
What version fixes CVE-2016-5734?
Upgrading to 4.0.10.16, 4.4.15.7, 4.6.3 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin affected?
Yes, phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin is affected in releases prior to 4.0.10.16, 4.4.15.7, 4.6.3. Upgrade your dependency to 4.0.10.16, 4.4.15.7, 4.6.3 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2016-5734?
CVE-2016-5734 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2016-5734?
CVE-2016-5734 is classified under CWE-94: Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection') (The product constructs all or part of a code segment using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the syntax or behavior of the intended code segment.).
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2016-5734?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-rv57-479x-x4qv",
  "modified" : "2025-04-14T21:34:50Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-17T02:37:29Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2016-5734" ],
  "summary" : "phpMyAdmin Code Injection vulnerability",
  "details" : "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.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "4.0.10.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.0.10.16"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "4.4.15.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.4.15.7"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "4.6.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.6.3"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-5734"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin/commit/1cc7466db3a05e95fe57a6702f41773e6829d54b"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin/commit/4bcc606225f15bac0b07780e74f667f6ac283da7"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201701-32"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20200227223418/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/91387"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40185"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.phpmyadmin.net/security/PMASA-2016-27"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-94" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-04-14T21:34:50Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2016-07-03T01:59:00Z"
  }
}