CVE-2016-9865: phpMyAdmin Serialized String Parsing Bypass

phpmyadmin Updated 02 Oct 2025

Summary

11/12/2016
N/A
Yes i
Critical
9.8

CVE-2016-9865: An issue was discovered in phpMyAdmin. Affects phpmyadmin across 64 version ranges.

< 1c1753bb6666381fa2cd2cd1f160286935244a35 < 1f1e63cd5956eca847891b28b24e90ceaeaeb009 < 1fe735d098d82ad79500eab04c4d25ba8fe25a24 < 2fecc279f5d51e00a203cd400ace24b6053969a4 < 3c96596f7d897e048be4c2c85d941aadd6141ba9 < 3df57a818917737d65e0e1c7cce80e9eb69e5e0b < 3fc737460caa3c47d9d51751d712cc8784b1dfef < 4.4.15.9-r0 < 5b0543da6915bac44cb15e7e73f9e1886fe57588 < 5b2b959a40ddd728d5ef4c6b09f118038c5e8af0 < 5ba96c8804d9dd18ad380e9c5cb713201ab3cb89 < 5e5261284190c6fe6985547fbd19d3345df14be1 < 6ab95d9bec50f6be6b5439abed35f99ab3fa5cbc < 6da64cc3b2ba4439574f914f51e161645375be96 < 07fd0bce678e83d5f81d7a683f1052fe45764d0c < 13a288d0da6e79b99acb9052bcf31b6650c624b5 < 21eda1c2c42d28370b91c99017dcee7eef9691fd < 32f512698518214fcc59ea45e0f35b0aedff16cb < 35e191d74b50c8f5a7b87fa9889869cc3a88255d < 37b38431d167915675fc8ab512470528147e72de < 52b6cfde9f581ee6818db0e3f5d80db8c29dfa34 < 64c2b9a59c09e4a04be2238553c3fcfbc58b7949 < 66aba31923f26124e06b2a55b837e4fd47c5ef1d < 78a6214afcee3a6b65eb5e1ac261aa8e70f36736 < 86a7d2704994c43a4fae11cf38105fc3cb3d4d5b < 243ed0268fa15567c8a787eeb6055a232102b91a < 409c9bc50aa447c52d334c839f4aa239f66c5e03 < 426c5d9c1ded024c9306428ce165ae82d6f6d5df < 00828f9ccb1024fbcd528f41dfdf28fab918dfff < 2189c875356fc1af21c6da32235bf24f60f53b96 < 2694c36ef6e86de019196698a9de1953645fba97 < 5004dc40980b8dfe04c328abed85fde991833624 < 16136ea0ef224ed22c3dffd629e3e147579f5f38 < 82161a6c30a9ac2502d822e29cfb66beae7eeb4c < 83416df64f2277d8853fcdd048df7bb154514d03 < 95104ff56e15876c6b481e09c9f0169e34b781f8 < 5118938f103e0022329847b654fcd99c8cb37de7 < 39864227e7c33f9a6ef29890017e48164df54858 < 66149607b1b578bbedc0a90e3c000e8c410c7c8e < a1b4ecc69bc4ac90a54e3f3c8644ca18f13b010d < a62fcf03af4c7f9df2393fbe58ae8653166763fa < a395665715a3f56db9692486d120fb1dc00bcc5d < ad54449d105365dbbd39ae879306f1037fe238cd < b0d60e271a6f47d2e0ecd81ad620b5d185acc0b1 < b1cc43ee7f8607c80889570912c5a54b7409b4d1 < b7c2e99987c2c52c6e8010b55b75f3c1c039216a < b8f86592e900310f0b39d8e5270b26bebd0cfad8 < b9a6a9993e175ff13375462333ce1139095d01e1 < b478a3d5c4fc1341a0a77235d2afbd2b4e4d0a6c < c68478ad7d0523e42aa789ba24ea5f9018510047 < c21937440af0b0b2ed752f229c3d2523ac178d85 < ceb7d7e1b2f8ab1e61710d0d061f10193a6c44c5 < d0f7dc79905f4795d328a018772871f9f98957fc < d8f4a2d661f78281db7ee6826651ffc9574a2b31 < d81165f34555c5202d8150ae1d080834dd601d5b < daf86cd1e369f63ad132d8dc63a7217267030408 < dba2af651a53d5037296a1dc827081a94ef1062c < e0c1ed02a11b4ed46d82a31b7f95030854865add < e4db51c0d47ac6e319ba93ce0d5706a33f736c00 < f2db92434b71973a1281dfbaec8837e51e602c77 < f7f483e99a74648843cc87265033442aeb4b7342 < f86761326c97eb5e2c9cefa2b1871252357f00a0 < f1668937772688de3bbd707cee23ef8653756f32 < fecf8b76ef831be0a5a8fddb1c3edf4251e92076

Fixed in 4.4.15.9-r0. How to fix ↓

Free scan

Check if this vulnerability affects your application

Upload a manifest or SBOM and we'll show whether you're affected, plus every other risky package in the same scan.

Check my app free

No signup required · Results in about 60 seconds

Upload your dependency manifest or SBOM

Drag & drop your file here or

Java Javascript PHP Python Go Rust Ruby Dart C/C++ Elixir CycloneDX SPDX

Upload a supported dependency manifest or SBOM. No installation or source-code access required.

See supported files and SBOM formats
SBOM sbom.json · bom.json · bom.xml · *.spdx.json · *.cdx.json · *.cdx.xml
Java pom.xml · gradle.lockfile · buildscript-gradle.lockfile
Javascript package-lock.json · yarn.lock · pnpm-lock.yaml
PHP composer.lock
Python poetry.lock · requirements.txt · Pipfile.lock
Go go.mod
Rust Cargo.lock
Ruby Gemfile.lock
Dart pubspec.lock
C/C++ conan.lock
Elixir mix.lock
Enter your work email to receive your report link.

Verify your email to view the full report and start 30 days of continuous monitoring. No credit card required.

Sponsored Devnack Mobile apps built by Devnack Design, build and launch iOS and Android apps with a senior product team. From idea to store release Start a project

Background

phpMyAdmin is a popular open-source administration tool for managing MySQL databases. It provides a web-based interface for performing various database management tasks. This vulnerability affects versions 4.6.x (prior to 4.6.5), 4.4.x (prior to 4.4.15.9), and 4.0.x (prior to 4.0.10.18) of phpMyAdmin. The vulnerability arises from a bug in the serialized string parsing mechanism, which allows an attacker to bypass the protection offered by the PMA_safeUnserialize() function.

Vulnerability Detail

The vulnerability in phpMyAdmin allows an attacker to exploit the bug in serialized string parsing and bypass the protection provided by the PMA_safeUnserialize() function. By crafting a specially crafted serialized string, an attacker can execute arbitrary code or perform unauthorized actions on the affected system. This can lead to various consequences, including data theft, privilege escalation, and remote code execution.

How To Fix

Minimum fixed version

4.4.15.9-r0

This is the first release that contains the fix.

sudo apk add --upgrade phpmyadmin

Tip — Not sure which version your app runs? Vulert can match this fix to it. Scan free →

Workaround

No specific workaround has been provided for this vulnerability.

Conclusion

The vulnerability in phpMyAdmin's serialized string parsing mechanism can be exploited to bypass the protection offered by the PMA_safeUnserialize() function. To mitigate this vulnerability, it is crucial to update phpMyAdmin to the recommended versions. For further assistance and support in vulnerability remediation, please contact DevNack.com.

See every vulnerability recorded for phpmyadmin →

Share this vulnerability

FAQ

phpMyAdmin is an open-source administration tool for managing MySQL databases. It provides a web-based interface for performing various database management tasks.

Versions 4.6.x (prior to 4.6.5), 4.4.x (prior to 4.4.15.9), and 4.0.x (prior to 4.0.10.18) of phpMyAdmin are affected.

This vulnerability allows an attacker to bypass the protection provided by the PMA_safeUnserialize() function and execute arbitrary code or perform unauthorized actions on the affected system. This can lead to data theft, privilege escalation, and remote code execution.

To fix this vulnerability, update phpMyAdmin to version 4.6.5 if using version 4.6.x, or version 4.4.15.9 if using version 4.4.x. For version 4.0.x, update to version 4.0.10.18.

No specific workaround has been provided for this vulnerability.

Related vulnerabilities

Recent vulnerabilities recorded for phpmyadmin.

How To Fix

Minimum fixed version

4.4.15.9-r0

This is the first release that contains the fix.

sudo apk add --upgrade phpmyadmin

Tip — Not sure which version your app runs? Vulert can match this fix to it. Scan free →

Subscribe to Vulert on Telegram
Daily digest of new CVEs, critical and high severity, affected packages and fixes — plus a weekly roundup.
Join the channel →
Help improve this record
Report an issue or send feedback