CVE-2016-6606

What it is

An issue was discovered in cookie encryption in phpMyAdmin. The decryption of the username/password is vulnerable to a padding oracle attack. This can allow an attacker who has access to a user's browser cookie file to decrypt the username and password. Furthermore, the same initialization vector (IV) is used to hash the username and password stored in the phpMyAdmin cookie. If a user has the same password as their username, an attacker who examines the browser cookie can see that they are the same - but the attacker can not directly decode these values from the cookie as it is still hashed. All 4.6.x versions (prior to 4.6.4), 4.4.x versions (prior to 4.4.15.8), and 4.0.x versions (prior to 4.0.10.17) are affected.

At a glance

Exploitability

Can be exploited over the network without logging in. High risk of data exposure, data tampering, service disruption.

Exploit odds

1.4% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

1. 2016-12-11 02:59 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-06-17 00:51 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 1.4% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: 8.1 HIGH (CVSS).
• Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published

2016-12-11 02:59 UTC

Last modified

2026-06-17 00:51 UTC

Exploit probability

1.4% · EPSS, next 30 days

Weakness

CWE-200 · Information exposure

Record status

Modified

Affected

• Phpmyadmin 4.4.0
• Phpmyadmin 4.4.1
• Phpmyadmin 4.4.1.1
• Phpmyadmin 4.4.2
• Phpmyadmin 4.4.3
• Phpmyadmin 4.4.4
• Phpmyadmin 4.4.5
• Phpmyadmin 4.4.6

Attack profile CVSS 3.0 · 8.1

Attack vector

Network

Complexity

High

Privileges needed

None

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Is it in your code?

Hand this to your coding agent. It searches your project for the affected products and checks versions. Nothing leaves your machine.

Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2016-6606.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2016-6606. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.

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