An issue was discovered in dotCMS through 3.6.1. The findChildrenByFilter() function which is called by the web accessible path /categoriesServlet performs string interpolation and direct SQL query execution. SQL quote escaping and a keyword blacklist were implemented in a new class, SQLUtil (main/java/com/dotmarketing/common/util/SQLUtil.java), as part of the remediation of CVE-2016-8902; however, these can be overcome in the case of the q and inode parameters to the /categoriesServlet path. Overcoming these controls permits a number of blind boolean SQL injection vectors in either parameter. The /categoriesServlet web path can be accessed remotely and without authentication in a default dotCMS deployment.
Conclusion & alert: CVE-2017-5344 is rated High Exploit Risk (84.8/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 6.30%, 93th percentile). Core evidence: 3 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Mandatory action: Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.
Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.
| EDB-ID | Source | Kind | Published | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41377 | exploit_db | edb | 2017-02-16 | Exploit-DB ↗ |
| — | nvd_ref | exploit_tag | Exploit-DB ↗ | |
| — | nvd_ref | exploit_tag | Exploit-DB ↗ |
EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).
| # | Date | Old EPSS score | New EPSS score | Delta (New - Old) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2026-06-15 | 8.15% | 6.30% | -1.84% |
| 2 | 2026-03-04 | 4.73% | 8.15% | +3.42% |
| 3 | 2026-03-01 | — | 4.73% | — |
Full EPSS history (36 records total)
CVSS metrics for this CVE.
| Base score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability | Impact | Score source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9.8 | 3.0 | CRITICAL |
|
3.9 | 5.9 | [email protected] |
| 7.5 | 2.0 | HIGH |
|
10.0 | 6.4 | [email protected] |
| URL | Tags |
|---|---|
| http://dotcms.com/security/SI-39 | Vendor Advisory |
| http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2017/Feb/34 | Exploit Mailing List Third Party Advisory |
| http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/96259 | |
| https://github.com/xdrr/webapp-exploits/blob/master/vendors/dotcms/2017.01.blind-sqli/dotcms-dump.sh | Exploit Third Party Advisory |
| https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/41377/ |