# CVE-2017-16540: Information disclosure in n/a

> Unauthenticated attackers can clone OpenEMR databases to external servers via setup.php, exposing sensitive medical data.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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:** No
- **Published:** 4 Nov 2017
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-v5gr-343r-7hr7

## What is CVE-2017-16540?

CVE-2017-16540 is a high-severity vulnerability in Open-Emr Openemr, published on 4 Nov 2017. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

OpenEMR before 5.0.0 Patch 5 allows unauthenticated remote database copying because setup.php exposes functionality for cloning an existing OpenEMR site to an arbitrary attacker-controlled MySQL server via vectors involving a crafted state parameter.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2017-16540?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Open-Emr Openemr.

## How do I fix CVE-2017-16540?

No fix has been published for CVE-2017-16540 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2017-16540 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2017-16540 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Open-Emr Openemr

- [CVE-2026-24898](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24898/): OpenEMR has an Unauthenticated MedEx Token Disclosure (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2026-24849](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24849/): OpenEMR Arbitrary File Read Vulnerability (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2026-24908](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-24908/): OpenEMR has SQL Injection in Patient API Sort Parameter (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2022-2734](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-2734/): Improper Restriction of Rendered UI Layers or Frames in openemr/openemr (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2024-22611](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-22611/): SQL injection in n/a (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2017-16540 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2017-16540 is a high-severity vulnerability in Open-Emr Openemr, published on 4 Nov 2017. 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-2017-16540 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Open-Emr Openemr. 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-2017-16540/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-16540/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-16540
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-16540
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2017-16540

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-16540/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.