How severe is CVE-2016-5731?

CVE-2016-5731 has a CVSS score of 6.1/10, rated MEDIUM. Review your exposure and patch according to your risk tolerance.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2016-5731?

CVE-2016-5731 affects the following packages: phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin (Packagist), phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin (Packagist), phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin (Packagist). Ecosystems affected: Packagist.

How do I fix CVE-2016-5731?

Update phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin to 4.0.10.16 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2016-5731 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2016-5731 in my Packagist dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2016-5731 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

Escape or sanitise the affected output on the server side rather than relying on client-side filtering, and add a Content-Security-Policy that blocks inline script execution so injected markup cannot run even if it reaches the page.

Is CVE-2016-5731 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2016-5731 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2016-5731?

CVE-2016-5731 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 1.8%, placing it in the 78th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2016-5731?

CVE-2016-5731 is classified as Cross-site Scripting (XSS) (CWE-79). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

When was CVE-2016-5731 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2016-5731 was published on July 3, 2016 and was last updated on October 20, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐘

🐘 Packagist

Not in CISA KEV

MEDIUM severity

CVE-2016-5731 — phpmyadmin

MEDIUMFix: phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin@418aeea

CVE-2016-5731 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.1) Cross-site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin. A fix is available for phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin — see the affected versions and patch details below.

phpMyAdmin Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability

Also known asGHSA-mwm8-36c5-j5cf

Published

Jul 3, 2016

Updated

Oct 20, 2026

Affected

3 pkgs

Patched

3 / 3

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Oct 28, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

1.8%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs78th percentile — riskier than 78% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Real-World Exposure

3 pkgs affected

🐘phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin🐘phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin🐘phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin

Real-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

Cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability in examples/openid.php in 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 allows remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via vectors involving an OpenID error message.

Affected Packages

3 total 3 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐘Packagist	`phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin`	≥ 4.0&&< 4.0.10.16	4.0.10.16`composer require phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin:^4.0.10.16`
🐘Packagist	`phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin`	≥ 4.4&&< 4.4.15.7	4.4.15.7`composer require phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin:^4.4.15.7`
🐘Packagist	`phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin`	≥ 4.6&&< 4.6.3	4.6.3`composer require phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin:^4.6.3`

Affected Products

3 products · 62 configurations

leapopensuse

1 version

42.1

opensuseopensuse

2 versions

13.113.2

Application

phpmyadminphpmyadmin

56 versions

4.0.04.0.14.0.24.0.34.0.44.0.4.14.0.4.24.0.54.0.64.0.74.0.84.0.9

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin to 4.0.10.16 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2016-5731 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Escape or sanitise the affected output on the server side rather than relying on client-side filtering, and add a Content-Security-Policy that blocks inline script execution so injected markup cannot run even if it reaches the page.

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2016-5731 in your dependencies?

Find it across Packagist, including transitive dependencies.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works

CVSS Score

6.1/10CVSS v3 base

Vector breakdown

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

Required

Scope

Changed

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

Low

Availability

None

Raw vector

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N

CWE Classification

CWE-79Cross-site Scripting (XSS)

Weaponization

No Nuclei template, Metasploit module or public proof-of-concept found.

OpenSSF Scorecard

Package health score

phpmyadmin

6.1/10

Code-Review3/10

Maintained10/10

Branch-ProtectionN/A

Assessed Oct 19, 2026

Timeline

Disclosed

Jul 3, 2016

Last updated

Oct 20, 2026

Identifiers

CVE-2016-5731

GHSA-mwm8-36c5-j5cf

References

Advisorydebian.org · dsa 3627 Advisorysecurity.gentoo.org · 201701 32 Advisorynvd.nist.gov · CVE 2016 5731 Fixgithub.com · 418aeea3d83b0b6021bac311d849570acfc6e48c Fixgithub.com · 94cf3864254ffaf3a69e97d8fc454888368b94ab Fixphpmyadmin.net · PMASA 2016 24 Weblists.opensuse.org · msg00113 Weblists.opensuse.org · msg00114 Webgithub.com · 52e7898 Webgithub.com · 5fefa51 Webgithub.com · 78f6c54 Webgithub.com · d005ba6 Webphpmyadmin.net · PMASA 2016 24 Packagegithub.com · composer

Related vulnerabilities

This CVE is medium severity; 8 of 8 other CVEs affecting phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin are rated as high or higher (top: critical).

CVE-2025-24530CVE-2023-25727CVE-2020-22452CVE-2019-12922CVE-2020-26934CVE-2020-26935CVE-2020-10802CVE-2020-10803

Provenance

Sources

OSV.devNVDFIRST.org (EPSS)

Last verifiedOct 20, 2026