Once inside, the goal shifts to escalating privileges or stealing data. Executing Code with SQL
This blog post explores verified techniques for exploiting phpMyAdmin, drawing from authoritative community resources like HackTricks and Exploit-DB .
: Older versions (pre-2.5.6) were vulnerable to directory traversal in export.php , allowing attackers to read arbitrary server files. Exploitation Techniques (Getshell Methods)
Attackers and auditors use automated scanners or wordlists to find the installation directory. Common default paths include: /phpmyadmin/ /pma/ /admin/pma/ /admin/phpmyadmin/ /mysql/ Version Detection phpmyadmin hacktricks verified
This information is for educational and authorized penetration testing purposes only. Unauthorized access to computer systems is illegal.
The phpMyAdmin default user name is "root", default password is blank. It is critical to note that the setting $cfg['Servers'][$i]['AllowNoPassword'] controls whether blank passwords are permitted for login, but a misconfiguration can easily allow access.
This guide compiles verified penetration testing methodologies, credential hunting techniques, and Remote Code Execution (RCE) vectors for phpMyAdmin environments, aligned with modern security auditing frameworks like HackTricks. 1. Initial Reconnaissance and Fingerprinting Once inside, the goal shifts to escalating privileges
Find your session ID from your browser cookies (e.g., phpMyAdmin=abcd1234... ).
Additionally, inspecting the &token parameter in the URL or viewing the page source can sometimes reveal the version.
/config/config.inc.php.swp (Look for backup or text editor swap files) 2. Authentication Bypass & Credential Flaws The phpMyAdmin default user name is "root", default
Configure phpMyAdmin to block direct root logins ( $cfg['Servers'][$i]['AllowRoot'] = false; ).
If secure_file_priv is empty and you can write to /root/.ssh/ (rare):
The following Hacktricks have been verified to work on PHPMyAdmin:
: Using SELECT ... INTO OUTFILE , an attacker may attempt to drop a web shell into the document root.