CVE-2017-20289

Exploitation

Public exploit code exists. CISA's assessment records a public proof of concept. That is not a report of exploitation in the wild.

SSVC decision

• ExploitationpocPublic proof-of-concept exploit code exists. Not a report of exploitation in the wild.
• AutomatablenoAt least one step from reconnaissance to exploitation cannot be reliably automated.
• Technical ImpacttotalSuccessful exploitation gives total control of the vulnerable component.

CISA publishes the decision points, not a final SSVC decision. The decision also depends on mission and well-being impact, which is a property of your deployment rather than of the vulnerability.

EPSS probability

0.93% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days.

EPSS percentile

Equal to or higher than the score of 60.3% of scored records. A rank, not a probability.

NVD base score

7.7 (CVSS v4.0), scored by the NVD independently of the CNA.

NVD CVSS vector

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

NVD analysis status

Deferred. NVD last modified this record on 2026-10-23.

Red Hat severity

No Red Hat rating. Red Hat rates the CVEs that affect its products.

Exploit-prediction scores from FIRST. Independent scoring and analysis status from the NVD. Vendor severity from Red Hat. Exploitation assessment and catalog membership from CISA.

Published

2026-10-22 10:57Z6 DAYS AGO

Last updated

2026-10-23 21:16Z5 DAYS AGO

Reserved

2026-10-14

Assigning CNA

VulnCheck

Record state

PUBLISHED

Severity

High (CVSS 7.7)

CNA CVSS vector

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Weaknesses

• CWE-98Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion')Variant

Data version

5.2

Document digest

d6b4171868f25400e6fad6b76ba278ecea7bb7b25742ea914f17e1aeb0ae8a34

• wpscan.comWPScan Advisoryhttps://wpscan.com/vulnerability/caca21fe-56bf-4d4c-afc8-4a218e52f0a2third-party-advisory
• packetstorm.newsPacket Storm 144553https://packetstorm.news/files/id/144553/exploit
• cxsecurity.comCXSecurity WLB-2017100084https://cxsecurity.com/issue/WLB-2017100084exploit
• plugins.trac.wordpress.orgWordPress Changesethttps://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/1628751/ad-widgetpatch
• github.comNuclei Templatehttps://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/vulnerabilities/wordpress/ad-widget-lfi.yamltechnical-description
• wordpress.orgWordPress Download Pagehttps://wordpress.org/plugins/ad-widget/product
• www.vulncheck.comVulnCheck Advisory: Broadstreet Ad Widget WordPress Plugin < 2.12.0 Local File Inclusion via step parameterhttps://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/broadstreet-ad-widget-wordpress-plugin-2.12.0-local-file-inclusion-via-step-parameterthird-party-advisory