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phpMyAdminApplication

CVE-2004-1147

HIGH · 10.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2005-01-10
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
phpMyAdmin 2.6.0-pl2, and other versions before 2.6.1, with external transformations enabled, allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via shell metacharacters.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Command injection vulnerability in phpMyAdmin versions 2.6.0-pl2 and earlier (before 2.6.1) when external transformations are enabled, allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary OS commands via shell metacharacters.

MitigationUpgrade to phpMyAdmin 2.6.1 or later, or disable external transformations in the configuration if upgrade is not feasible.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
phpMyAdminApplication
Affected:= 2.4.0= 2.5.0= 2.5.1= 2.5.2= 2.5.4= 2.5.5= 2.5.5_pl1= 2.5.5_rc1= 2.5.5_rc2= 2.5.6_rc1= 2.5.7= 2.5.7_pl1

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Locate phpMyAdmin installation
    Find the phpMyAdmin directory on the server. The version is typically stored in a VERSION file in the root phpMyAdmin directory, or can be displayed on the phpMyAdmin welcome page.
    Affected if phpMyAdmin is installed on the server
  2. Determine installed version
    Read the VERSION file or check the footer of the phpMyAdmin web interface to identify the exact version number.
    Affected if version is 2.6.0-pl2 or any version 2.4.0 through 2.5.7_pl1 (versions before 2.6.1)
  3. Locate phpMyAdmin configuration file
    Find the config.inc.php file in the phpMyAdmin directory. This file contains the configuration settings.
    Affected if configuration file exists and is readable
  4. Check if external transformations are enabled
    Inspect the config.inc.php file for the directive $cfg['AllowAnywhereRecoding'] or look for any transformation-related configuration. External transformations are enabled when the $cfg['ExternalTransformations'] array is populated with transformation definitions, or when transformation features are configured to accept external programs.
    Affected if external transformations are enabled in the configuration (the $cfg['ExternalTransformations'] array is defined with values)

A system is affected if phpMyAdmin version is 2.6.0-pl2 or earlier (specifically 2.4.0 through 2.5.7_pl1) AND external transformations are enabled in the configuration.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to phpMyAdmin 2.6.1 or later, or disable external transformations in the configuration if upgrade is not feasible.

Recommended fix High confidence

phpMyAdmin 2.6.1 or later (preferably a modern stable 5.x release for security reasons)

  1. Back up the current phpMyAdmin installation and configuration files
  2. Download phpMyAdmin 2.6.1 or later from the official phpMyAdmin repository (pmaindl.org or phpmyadmin.net)
  3. Extract the new version to a temporary directory
  4. Replace the existing phpMyAdmin files with the new version
  5. Restore the configuration file (config.inc.php) from the backup
  6. Verify that external transformations are properly configured
  7. Test that phpMyAdmin loads correctly and transformations work as expected
Caveat Upgrading from 2.x to modern 5.x versions requires PHP 7.1+ and may require configuration adjustments; ensure compatibility before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in phpMyAdmin Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2004-1147 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data