# CVE-2017-17731: DedeCMS - SQLi

> Live exploitation tracking for CVE-2017-17731 by the CrowdSec Live Exploit Tracker, built from real-world attack data crowdsourced from CrowdSec's global network.

Page: https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2017-17731

## Key facts

- **Exploitation phase:** Limited Exploitation. The vulnerability is known but shows very limited attacker interest or exploitation activity.
- **CVSS score:** 9.8
- **Public exploit available:** Yes
- **Affected products:** DedeCMS
- **Weaknesses:** CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection'))
- **Tags:** cms

## Description

DedeCMS through 5.7 has SQL Injection via the $_FILES superglobal to plus/recommend.php.

## CrowdSec analysis

[CVE-2017-17731](https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/CVE-2017-17731) is a critical SQL injection vulnerability in DedeCMS through version 5.7, where attackers can exploit the $_FILES superglobal in plus/recommend.php. This flaw allows remote, unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands, potentially leading to full compromise of the database, data theft, or manipulation.

CrowdSec has been tracking this vulnerability and its exploits since 5th of August 2025.

Data from the CrowdSec community indicates that exploitation of CVE-2017-17731 is highly selective and intelligence-driven. Threat actors use advanced reconnaissance and carefully choose their targets, often as part of sophisticated campaigns or advanced persistent threat operations.
CrowdSec network telemetry also shows that exploitation of CVE-2017-17731 has significantly declined over the past week. Attack volumes are well below the long-term average, suggesting attackers are rapidly losing interest. The vulnerability appears to be falling out of active use across most threat landscapes.

Attackers exploit this vulnerability by sending crafted GET requests to `/plus/recommend.php` with malicious SQL payloads in the `_FILES[type][tmp_name]` parameter, attempting to execute arbitrary SQL commands.

## Timeline

- 2017-12-18: CVE Published. CVE-2017-17731 is published to NVD.
- 2025-08-05: Rule Released. CrowdSec releases a rule to detect CVE-2017-17731 exploitation attempts against the CrowdSec Network.
- 2025-08-08: CrowdSec First Seen. CrowdSec observes in-the-wild exploitation of CVE-2017-17731 for the first time.

## References

- http://0day5.com/archives/1346/
- https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2017/CVE-2017-17731.yaml

## Live exploitation data

The [Live Exploit Tracker page](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/cves/CVE-2017-17731) follows observed exploitation activity for CVE-2017-17731. [Request an API key](https://tracker.crowdsec.net/request-api-key) for full access to its exploitation timeline, attacking IP addresses and blocklists.