CVE-2018-12613 — phpmyadmin
HIGHCVE-2018-12613 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) Improper Authentication vulnerability in phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin. 13 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin — see the affected versions and patch details below.
phpMyAdmin Improper Authentication
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2018-12613 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). In the shaded patch-first corner (EPSS 50%+, CVSS 7.0+).
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 395,249 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the ≥ 90% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
Real-World Exposure
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
An issue was discovered in phpMyAdmin 4.8.x before 4.8.2, in which an attacker can include (view and potentially execute) files on the server. The vulnerability comes from a portion of code where pages are redirected and loaded within phpMyAdmin, and an improper test for whitelisted pages. An attacker must be authenticated, except in the "$cfg['AllowArbitraryServer'] = true" case (where an attacker can specify any host he/she is already in control of, and execute arbitrary code on phpMyAdmin) and the "$cfg['ServerDefault'] = 0" case (which bypasses the login requirement and runs the vulnerable code without any authentication).
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin | ≥ 4.8&&< 4.8.2 | 4.8.2composer require phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin:^4.8.2 |
Affected Products
phpmyadminphpmyadminResearch use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
phpMyAdmin - (Authenticated) Remote Code Execution (Metasploit)
by Metasploit · Jul 13, 2018
phpMyAdmin 4.8.1 - (Authenticated) Local File Inclusion (1)
by ChaMd5 · Jun 21, 2018
phpMyAdmin 4.8.1 - (Authenticated) Local File Inclusion (2)
by VulnSpy · Jun 22, 2018
phpMyAdmin 4.8.1 - Remote Code Execution (RCE)
by samguy · Oct 25, 2021
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
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 4.8.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2018-12613 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Put an independent control in front of the weakness: restrict the affected endpoint or interface to trusted networks, require an additional authentication factor or proxy-level check, and invalidate existing sessions and credentials in case the flaw has already been used.
How to detect CVE-2018-12613
A community-maintained Nuclei template exists for this CVE. You can scan for it directly:
nuclei -id cve-2018-12613 -u https://target- Template
- PhpMyAdmin <4.8.2 - Local File Inclusion
- Severity
- high
- Impact
- An attacker can exploit this vulnerability to read arbitrary files on the server.
- Remediation
- Upgrade PhpMyAdmin to version 4.8.2 or later to fix the vulnerability.
Template by ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates (pikpikcu), MIT licensed. View the full template. Scan only systems you are authorised to test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2018-12613 in your dependencies?
Find it across Packagist, including transitive dependencies.