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Unrated severityNVD Advisory· Published Nov 30, 2014· Updated May 6, 2026

CVE-2014-8961

CVE-2014-8961

Description

Directory traversal vulnerability in libraries/error_report.lib.php in the error-reporting feature in phpMyAdmin 4.1.x before 4.1.14.7 and 4.2.x before 4.2.12 allows remote authenticated users to obtain potentially sensitive information about a file's line count via a crafted parameter.

AI Insight

LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.

An authenticated directory traversal in phpMyAdmin's error-reporting feature leaks the line count of an arbitrary file via a crafted parameter.

Vulnerability

In phpMyAdmin versions 4.1.x prior to 4.1.14.7 and 4.2.x prior to 4.2.12, the error-reporting feature in libraries/error_report.lib.php contains a directory traversal vulnerability. The PMA_countLines function does not validate that a path parameter stays within the phpMyAdmin directory, allowing an authenticated user to supply a path with ../ sequences to read the line count of arbitrary files on the server [1][3].

Exploitation

An attacker must be logged in to phpMyAdmin (the usual token protection prevents non-logged-in users from accessing the required page). The attacker sends a crafted request to the error-reporting endpoint with a filename parameter containing directory traversal sequences (e.g., ../etc/passwd). The PMA_countLines function then attempts to open ./js/../etc/passwd and returns the number of lines in that file [1][3].

Impact

A remote authenticated attacker can obtain the line count of any file readable by the web server process. While this does not directly reveal the file’s contents, it leaks potentially sensitive information (e.g., guessing configuration, checking for the existence of files) and may aid in further attacks [1].

Mitigation

Upgrade to phpMyAdmin 4.1.14.7 or later, or 4.2.12 or later. The fix adds path depth validation in commit b99b6b6672ff2419f05b05740c80c7a23c1da994 (4.2 branch) and da44dd4fd7432b915203e3e723a4534a01c12cd9 (4.1 branch) to ensure the resolved file remains inside the phpMyAdmin folder [1][3]. No known workaround exists for unpatched versions [2].

References
  1. PMASA-2014-16
  2. Multiple vulnerabilities (GLSA 201505-03) — Gentoo security
  3. bug #4595 [security] Path traversal can lead to leakage of line count · phpmyadmin/phpmyadmin@b99b6b6

AI Insight generated on May 23, 2026. Synthesized from this CVE's description and the cited reference URLs; citations are validated against the source bundle.

Affected products

40
  • PhpMyAdmin/phpMyAdmin36 versions
    cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*+ 35 more
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.1.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.1.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.1.10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.1.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.1.12:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.1.13:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.1.14:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.1.14.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.1.14.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.1.14.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.1.14.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.1.14.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.1.14.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.1.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.1.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.1.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.1.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.1.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.1.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.1.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.1.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.2.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.2.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.2.10.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.2.11:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.2.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.2.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.2.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.2.5:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.2.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.2.7.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.2.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.2.8.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.2.9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:a:phpmyadmin:phpmyadmin:4.2.9.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • (no CPE)range: >=4.1.0, <4.1.14.7 or >=4.2.0, <4.2.12
  • OpenSUSE/openSUSE3 versions
    cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:opensuse:12.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*+ 2 more
    • cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:opensuse:12.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:opensuse:13.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    • cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:opensuse:13.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • osv-coords
    pkg:rpm/opensuse/phpMyAdmin&distro=openSUSE%20Tumbleweed
    Range: < 4.6.5.2-1.1

Patches

0

No patches discovered yet.

Vulnerability mechanics

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References

6

News mentions

0

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