Arbitrary directory deletion via db traversal
Published Aug 17, 2026 · Updated Aug 18, 2026
Path traversal in standard_tables_manage.php in OpenEMR before 8.2.0 allows attackers to delete server directories via the db parameter. The page passes db from the GET request to temp_dir_cleanup(), which appends it to temporary_files_dir and calls rmdir_recursive() on the resulting path without normalization; traversal sequences therefore escape the intended temporary directory. Direct reachability is limited to Administration - Superuser users, but the vendor advisory shows that an unauthenticated attacker can chain dicom_frame.php open redirect behavior to force a Superuser session to issue the deletion request, causing recursive data loss and service interruption.
Summary
What happened
Path traversal in standard_tables_manage.php in OpenEMR before 8.2.0 allows attackers to delete server directories via the db parameter. The page passes db from the GET request to temp_dir_cleanup(), which appends it to temporary_files_dir and calls rmdir_recursive() on the resulting path without normalization; traversal sequences therefore escape the intended temporary directory. Direct reachability is limited to Administration - Superuser users, but the vendor advisory shows that an unauthenticated attacker can chain dicom_frame.php open redirect behavior to force a Superuser session to issue the deletion request, causing recursive data loss and service interruption.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-40506
- Published
- Aug 17, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 18, 2026
- Vendor
- OpenEMR Foundation
- Product
- OpenEMR
- Classifications
- CWE-22, T1190
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- admin
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 17, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 18, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <8.2.0
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- GHSA-hj9x-33vw-5g3x proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo