Authentication Bypass in ADOdb/ADOdb
Impact
An attacker can inject values into a PostgreSQL connection string by providing a parameter surrounded by single quotes.
Depending on how the library is used in the client software, this may allow an attacker to bypass the login process, gain access to the server's IP address, etc.
Patches
The vulnerability is fixed in ADOdb versions 5.20.21 (952de6c4273d9b1e91c2b838044f8c2111150c29) and 5.21.4 or later (b4d5ce70034c5aac3a1d51d317d93c037a0938d2).
The simplest patch is to delete line 29 in drivers/adodb-postgres64.inc.php:
diff --git a/drivers/adodb-postgres64.inc.php b/drivers/adodb-postgres64.inc.php
index d04b7f67..729d7141 100644
--- a/drivers/adodb-postgres64.inc.php
+++ b/drivers/adodb-postgres64.inc.php
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ function adodb_addslashes($s)
{
$len = strlen($s);
if ($len == 0) return "''";
- if (strncmp($s,"'",1) === 0 && substr($s,$len-1) == "'") return $s; // already quoted
return "'".addslashes($s)."'";
}Workarounds
Ensure the parameters passed to ADOConnection::connect() or related functions (nConnect(), pConnect()) are not surrounded by single quotes.
Credits
Thanks to Emmet Leahy (@meme-lord) of Sorcery Ltd for reporting this vulnerability, and to the huntr team for their support.
References
- Original issue report https://huntr.dev/bounties/bdf5f216-4499-4225-a737-b28bc6f5801c/
- ADOdb reference issue #793
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Add a note in issue #793
- Contact the maintainers on Gitter
Affected software
Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.
| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Composer package | adodb/adodb-php | < 5.20.21, >= 5.21.0, < 5.21.4 | 5.20.21, 5.21.4 |
References
- https://github.com/ADOdb/ADOdb/security/advisories/GHSA-65mj-7c86-79jf
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-3850
- https://github.com/ADOdb/ADOdb/issues/793
- https://github.com/ADOdb/ADOdb/commit/952de6c4273d9b1e91c2b838044f8c2111150c29
- https://github.com/ADOdb/ADOdb/commit/b4d5ce70034c5aac3a1d51d317d93c037a0938d2
- https://github.com/ADOdb/ADOdb
- https://huntr.dev/bounties/bdf5f216-4499-4225-a737-b28bc6f5801c
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/02/msg00006.html
- https://www.debian.org/security/2022/dsa-5101
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-287, CWE-305- Platform
- Composer
- Package
adodb/adodb-php- Disclosed
- 27.01.2022
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 10:22
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-65mj-7c86-79jf - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: adodb/adodb-php
All published vulnerabilities of this package (Composer package), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 6
- First → latest
- 01.2022 08.2025
- Without a fix
- 0
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- Critical 5
- Medium 1
Disclosures per year
- 2022: 3
- 2023: 0
- 2024: 1
- 2025: 2
- 2026: 0
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