Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2013-10044 affects legacy OpenEMR installations up to 4.1.1 Patch 14. A low-privileged authenticated user could abuse SQL injection to obtain administrator credentials, then use file upload weakness to gain remote code execution. That can mean full application and host compromise.
Executive priority
Treat this as urgent for any legacy OpenEMR environment. The business risk is not just data theft; the documented chain can lead to administrator control and host compromise. Prioritize inventory, upgrade planning, and containment of exposed systems.
Technical view
The sources describe a chained issue in OpenEMR: authenticated SQL injection enables privilege escalation, followed by unrestricted file upload for remote code execution. CVSS 4.0 score is 8.7 with low attack complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in old, still-running OpenEMR deployments at or below 4.1.1 Patch 14, especially internet-facing systems or systems with many low-privileged users. The supplied affected metadata is inconsistent, so version validation against vendor records is important.
Exploitation context
Public exploit references exist, including Exploit-DB and Metasploit entries. The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation, so active exploitation should not be assumed from these sources alone.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports a historical exploit chain mapped to CWE-89 and CWE-434. Public exploit artifacts increase practical risk, but the provided sources do not establish active exploitation. The affected-version metadata conflict should be resolved with vendor advisories or confirmed installation details.
Mitigation direction
- Identify and retire OpenEMR versions at or below 4.1.1 Patch 14.
- Check OpenEMR guidance and upgrade to a supported fixed release.
- Remove direct internet exposure until remediation is complete.
- Restrict access to trusted users and networks where immediate upgrade is delayed.
- Review administrative accounts and rotate credentials after remediation if compromise is suspected.
Validation and detection
- Inventory all OpenEMR instances and record exact versions and patch levels.
- Confirm no production system runs OpenEMR 4.1.1 Patch 14 or older.
- Review logs for unusual low-privileged account activity or admin account changes.
- Inspect upload locations for unexpected executable or recently added files.
- Confirm web access controls restrict legacy systems during remediation.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-434: File access and web shell behavior lookup
File traversal and upload weaknesses can lead teams to review file, web shell, execution, and collection telemetry. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCWE-89: Database access and collection lookup
Injection into data stores can inform collection, data access, and exfiltration detection reviews. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupPrivilege behavior lookup
The CVE wording references privilege impact, so privilege escalation and authorization behavior review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupDatabase behavior lookup
The CVE wording references database injection or access, so collection and exfiltration review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupFile access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references file access or upload behavior, so file telemetry and web shell review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 8.7 (4.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N——VulnCheckVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 4.0 score
8.7HighVector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/master/modules/exploits/unix/webapp/openemr_sqli_privesc_upload.rbCVE reference, VulnCheck · exploit
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/28329CVE reference, VulnCheck · exploit
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/28408CVE reference, VulnCheck · exploit
- https://www.open-emr.org/CVE reference, VulnCheck · product
- https://github.com/openemr/openemrCVE reference, VulnCheck · product
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/openemr-sqli-priv-esc-rceCVE reference, VulnCheck · third-party-advisory
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.