# CVE-2016-9855: Information disclosure in n/a

> Attackers can trigger PHP errors during export timeouts to reveal the full installation path of phpMyAdmin, aiding further attacks.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.3 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 11 Dec 2016
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2016-9855, DEBIAN-CVE-2016-9855, GHSA-wcgr-wpcg-82c8, UBUNTU-CVE-2016-9855

## What is CVE-2016-9855?

CVE-2016-9855 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Phpmyadmin Phpmyadmin, published on 11 Dec 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An issue was discovered in phpMyAdmin. By calling some scripts that are part of phpMyAdmin in an unexpected way, it is possible to trigger phpMyAdmin to display a PHP error message which contains the full path of the directory where phpMyAdmin is installed. During an execution timeout in the export functionality, the errors containing the full path of the directory of phpMyAdmin are written to the export file. All 4.6.x versions (prior to 4.6.5), and 4.4.x versions (prior to 4.4.15.9) are affected. This CVE is for the PMA_shutdownDuringExport issue.

Weakness: CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-9855?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Phpmyadmin Phpmyadmin.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-9855?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2016-9855 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-9855 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Phpmyadmin Phpmyadmin

- [CVE-2008-7251](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-7251/): Misconfiguration in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2008-7252](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2008-7252/): phpMyAdmin unsafely handles temporary files (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2007-0203](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-0203/): Other in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2004-1147](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2004-1147/): Command injection in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2020-22452](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-22452/): phpmyadmin contains SQL Injection vulnerability (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-9855 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-9855 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Phpmyadmin Phpmyadmin, published on 11 Dec 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-9855 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Phpmyadmin Phpmyadmin. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9855/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9855/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-9855
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-9855
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-9855

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-9855/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.