Threats / DotNetNuke (DNN) / CVE-2017-9822
CVE-2017-9822
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
DotNetNuke (DNN) vulnerability
DotNetNuke (DNN) contains a remote code execution vulnerability via insecure cookie deserialization that allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems.
Verdict
Today item, not a backlog item.
This vulnerability enables direct remote code execution through malicious cookie payloads. The high EPSS score (0.94) and confirmed exploitation in ransomware campaigns indicate active abuse. Immediate patching is critical for all DNN deployments.
CISA KEV Yes · 2021-11-034Ransomware use Flagged4EPSS 0.94789 (verify live)5Exploit Weaponized · public PoC6CVSS 8.8 (CISA)3CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Impact: total3
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreExploit available
Fully weaponized — public exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
3 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03), flagged for known ransomware use.
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.94789 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 8.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) · Affected: DotNetNuke (DNN), DotNetNuke (DNN). Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CISA-assigned via the ADP container (CVE.org), version 3.1; the CNA left no metrics, so CISA's own score is used ahead of NVD.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-20 Improper Input Validation.CWE assignment from the public NVD record (may be stale); the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Technical Impact: totalCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog 1567 days after the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
Public exploit available
Public exploit tooling is catalogued for this CVE (a functional/weaponized public exploit). Catalog entries: Metasploit module, nuclei template. We link the catalog page(s) only — no payload or code is hosted or restated here.Link, never host — the catalog page is the source; basicsecurity.net does not redistribute payloads.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I craft a malicious serialized object and inject it into the application cookie to trigger unsafe deserialization.
Business
Attackers gain unauthenticated code execution capability, leading to full system compromise and data exfiltration.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I execute arbitrary commands on the server with the privileges of the DNN application process.
Business
Ransomware operators deploy encryption payloads, causing operational shutdown and financial extortion demands.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I establish persistent backdoor access and move laterally through the network infrastructure.
Business
Extended dwell time enables theft of intellectual property, customer data, and confidential business records.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05