CVE-2016-2041
HIGHCVE-2016-2041 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) CWE-254 vulnerability in phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2016-2041 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
phpMyAdmin Unsafe comparison of XSRF/CSRF token
Blast Radius
phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin🐘phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin🐘phpmyadmin/phpmyadminReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Packagist packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
libraries/common.inc.php in phpMyAdmin 4.0.x before 4.0.10.13, 4.4.x before 4.4.15.3, and 4.5.x before 4.5.4 does not use a constant-time algorithm for comparing CSRF tokens, which makes it easier for remote attackers to bypass intended access restrictions by measuring time differences.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin | ≥ 4.0&&< 4.0.10.13 | 4.0.10.13 |
| 🐘Packagist | phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin | ≥ 4.4&&< 4.4.15.3 | 4.4.15.3 |
| 🐘Packagist | phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin | ≥ 4.5&&< 4.5.4 | 4.5.4 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin to 4.0.10.13 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2016-2041 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2016-2041 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2016-2041. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2016-2041 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2016-2041 across Packagist dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.