CVE-2016-9866: Phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin PhpMyAdmin CSRF Vulnerability Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-jvxx-8xxf-5495
CVSS 9.8
CWE-352
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2016-9866 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) phpmyadmin csrf vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)) affecting Phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves phpmyadmin csrf vulnerability. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 4.6.5, 4.4.15.9, 4.0.10.18.

CVE-2016-9866 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2016-9866
GHSA Identifier GHSA-jvxx-8xxf-5495
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
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-2016-9866

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: 4.6.5
Upgrade phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin to 4.6.5
phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin fixed: 4.4.15.9
Upgrade phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin to 4.4.15.9
phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin fixed: 4.0.10.18
Upgrade phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin to 4.0.10.18
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-2016-9866, 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 4.6.5), 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-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF), where the web application does not, or cannot, sufficiently verify whether a request was intentionally provided by the user who sent the request, which could have originated from an unauthorized actor. 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

An issue was discovered in phpMyAdmin. When the arg_separator is different from its default & value, the CSRF token was not properly stripped from the return URL of the preference import action. 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.

CVE-2016-9866 Affected Phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin Versions

3 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
4.6.54.4.15.94.0.10.18
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin
Packagist
≥ 4.6.0
< 4.6.5
4.6.5
phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin
Packagist
≥ 4.4.0
< 4.4.15.9
4.4.15.9
phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin
Packagist
≥ 4.0.0
< 4.0.10.18
4.0.10.18

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2016-9866?
CVE-2016-9866 is a security vulnerability in Phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin involving phpMyAdmin CSRF Vulnerability under CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF).
Which Phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 4.6.5, 4.4.15.9, 4.0.10.18 across affected packages: phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin.
What version fixes CVE-2016-9866?
Upgrading to 4.6.5, 4.4.15.9, 4.0.10.18 (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 4.6.5, 4.4.15.9, 4.0.10.18. Upgrade your dependency to 4.6.5, 4.4.15.9, 4.0.10.18 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2016-9866?
CVE-2016-9866 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-2016-9866?
CVE-2016-9866 is classified under CWE-352: Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) (The web application does not, or cannot, sufficiently verify whether a request was intentionally provided by the user who sent the request, which could have originated from an unauthorized actor.).
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2016-9866?
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
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-jvxx-8xxf-5495",
  "modified" : "2023-11-02T20:49:24Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-17T02:36:23Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2016-9866" ],
  "summary" : "phpMyAdmin CSRF Vulnerability",
  "details" : "An issue was discovered in phpMyAdmin. When the arg_separator is different from its default & value, the CSRF token was not properly stripped from the return URL of the preference import action. 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.",
  "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" : "4.6.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.6.5"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "4.4.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.4.15.9"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "4.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.0.10.18"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-9866"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/phpmyadmin/composer"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201701-32"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20210123194736/http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/94536"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.phpmyadmin.net/security/PMASA-2016-71"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-352" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-07-31T21:44:50Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2016-12-11T03:00:00Z"
  }
}