Description
An issue was discovered in libraries/common.inc.php in phpMyAdmin 4.0 before 4.0.10.20, 4.4.x, 4.6.x, and 4.7.0 prereleases. The restrictions caused by $cfg['Servers'][$i]['AllowNoPassword'] = false are bypassed under certain PHP versions (e.g., version 5). This can allow the login of users who have no password set even if the administrator has set $cfg['Servers'][$i]['AllowNoPassword'] to false (which is also the default). This occurs because some implementations of the PHP substr function return false when given '' as the first argument.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | phpmyadmin | 4:4.6.6-2 | — |
| Debian 13 | phpmyadmin | 4:4.6.6-2 | — |
| Debian 12 | phpmyadmin | 4:4.6.6-2 | — |
| Debian 8 | phpmyadmin | 4:4.2.12-2+deb8u3 | DLA-1415-1 |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS | phpmyadmin | 4:4.9.5+dfsg1-2ubuntu0.1~esm1 | USN-4843-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS | phpmyadmin | 4:4.6.6-5ubuntu0.5+esm1 | USN-4843-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | phpmyadmin | 4:4.5.4.1-2ubuntu2.1+esm3 | USN-4843-1 |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS | phpmyadmin | 4:4.0.10-1ubuntu0.1+esm4 | USN-4843-1 |
Affected packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Packagist | phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin | >= 4.0, < 4.0.10.20 | 4.0.10.20 | GHSA-5868-g58j-vrj5 |
| Packagist | phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin | >= 4.7.0-beta1, < 4.7.0 | 4.7.0 | GHSA-5868-g58j-vrj5 |
| Packagist | phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin | >= 4.4.0, <= 4.4.15.10 | — | GHSA-5868-g58j-vrj5 |
| Packagist | phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin | >= 4.6.0, <= 4.6.6 | — | GHSA-5868-g58j-vrj5 |
Advisories 2
- USN-4843-1 phpmyadmin vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Jun 29, 2026
- DLA-1415-1 phpmyadmin - security update Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026