Compliance Impact

[{'type': 'paragraph', 'content': "This vulnerability allows attackers to gain unauthorized remote access to phpMyAdmin, upload malicious shells, and obtain database credentials, leading to full compromise of the database's confidentiality, integrity, and availability."}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Such a compromise can result in unauthorized access to sensitive personal or protected health information stored in the database, which may violate compliance requirements under standards like GDPR and HIPAA that mandate strict controls over data confidentiality and integrity.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Therefore, exploitation of this vulnerability could lead to non-compliance with these regulations due to potential data breaches and failure to protect sensitive data adequately.'}] [1]

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Executive Summary

GUnet OpenEclass version 1.7.3 includes phpMyAdmin 2.10.0.2 by default, which has a critical security vulnerability identified as CVE-2020-37116.

This vulnerability is due to improper access control (CWE-284) that allows attackers who have access to the platform to remotely log into phpMyAdmin without proper restrictions.

Once logged in, an attacker can upload a malicious shell, which enables them to read the config.php file and extract the MySQL database password.

This leads to a full compromise of the database, affecting confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

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Impact Analysis

Exploiting this vulnerability can lead to a full compromise of the MySQL database used by the GUnet OpenEclass platform.

• Attackers can gain unauthorized remote access to phpMyAdmin.
• They can upload malicious shells to the server.
• They can read sensitive configuration files such as config.php to obtain database credentials.
• This results in loss of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the database.

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Detection Guidance

This vulnerability can be detected by checking if the vulnerable version of phpMyAdmin (2.10.0.2) is accessible remotely on the GUnet OpenEclass 1.7.3 platform. Since the issue involves unauthorized remote login and the ability to upload shells, detection involves verifying access to phpMyAdmin and inspecting for suspicious files or activities.

• Use network scanning tools (e.g., nmap) to detect if phpMyAdmin is accessible on the network.
• Run a command like: curl -I http://<target-ip>/phpmyadmin/ to check if the phpMyAdmin interface is reachable.
• Check for the presence of uploaded shells or suspicious files in the phpMyAdmin directory on the server.
• Review web server logs for unusual POST requests or file uploads to the phpMyAdmin path.

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Mitigation Strategies

Immediate mitigation steps include restricting access to the vulnerable phpMyAdmin instance, removing or upgrading the vulnerable version, and monitoring for any signs of compromise.

• Restrict network access to phpMyAdmin by limiting it to trusted IP addresses or internal networks.
• Disable or remove the default phpMyAdmin 2.10.0.2 bundled with GUnet OpenEclass 1.7.3.
• Upgrade phpMyAdmin to a secure, supported version that does not have this vulnerability.
• Change MySQL passwords and review database access logs for suspicious activity.
• Monitor the system for any uploaded shells or unauthorized access attempts.

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