Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Joomla sites using the Payage 2.05 extension may expose database data to unauthenticated attackers. The issue is SQL injection in a payment-related request parameter, creating confidentiality risk for customer, payment-adjacent, or site data stored in the database.
Executive priority
Prioritize within the current remediation cycle for any internet-facing Joomla site. Escalate higher if the extension handles customer records, orders, payment workflows, or regulated data.
Technical view
CVE-2017-20279 is a CWE-89 SQL injection in Joomla Payage 2.05 through the aid parameter during the make_payment task. Sources describe unauthenticated network exploitation using blind SQL injection techniques. CVSS v4.0 is 8.8 high, with high vulnerability confidentiality impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure appears limited to Joomla installations running Payage version 2.05. Internet-facing Joomla sites are the primary concern. The source bundle does not provide CPEs, broader version ranges, or confirmed affected forks.
Exploitation context
A public ExploitDB reference exists, but the CVE is not marked KEV in the provided bundle. Treat exploit availability as confirmed; do not treat active exploitation as confirmed without separate evidence.
Researcher notes
The evidence names Payage 2.05 specifically and cites unauthenticated blind SQL injection. The provided sources do not identify a vendor patch, affected version range beyond 2.05, active exploitation, or CPE data.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory Joomla sites for the Payage extension and version 2.05.
- Check vendor or extension maintainer guidance for patched versions or replacement advice.
- Disable or remove Payage 2.05 if no supported fix is available.
- Apply WAF or access restrictions as a temporary compensating control.
- Review database and application logs if exposure is confirmed.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether Payage 2.05 is installed on any Joomla instance.
- Check public routes for the affected payment functionality without sending attack payloads.
- Review web logs for unusual aid parameter patterns and payment task requests.
- Assess database access logs for suspicious read activity during relevant periods.
- Document remediation status for every identified Joomla site.
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-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 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 lookupCVE-2017-20279 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 8.8 (4.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:L/VA:N/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
2 official scoresWe 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:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N——VulnCheckCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N3.94.2VulnCheckVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 4.0 score
8.8HighVector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.2HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A: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
- ExploitDB-42113CVE reference, VulnCheck · exploit
- VulnCheck Advisory: Joomla Payage 2.05 SQL Injection via aid ParameterCVE 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.
Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.