CVE-2017-16941
** DISPUTED ** October CMS through 1.0.428 does not prevent use of .htaccess in themes, which...
October CMS through 1.0.428 does not prevent use of .htaccess in themes, which allows remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary PHP code by downloading a theme ZIP archive from /backend/cms/themes, and then uploading and importing a modified archive with two new files: a .php file and a .htaccess file. NOTE: the vendor says "I don't think [an attacker able to login to the system under an account that has access to manage/upload themes] is a threat model that we need to be considering.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
October CMS through 1.0.428 does not prevent use of .htaccess in themes, which allows remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary PHP code by downloading a theme ZIP archive from /backend/cms/themes, and then uploading and importing a modified archive with two new files: a .php file and a .htaccess file. NOTE: the vendor says "I don't think [an attacker able to login to the system under an account that has access to manage/upload themes] is a threat model that we need to be considering.
- Record
CVE-2017-16941- CVSS 3.0
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 6.5 Medium
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P - Weakness
- CWE-434
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
October CMS through 1.0.428 does not prevent use of .htaccess in themes, which allows remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary PHP code by downloading a theme ZIP archive from /backend/cms/themes, and then uploading and importing a modified archive with two new files: a .php file and a .htaccess file. NOTE: the vendor says "I don't think [an attacker able to login to the system under an account that has access to manage/upload themes] is a threat model that we need to be considering.
- Record
CVE-2017-16941- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2017-8110 No score
October CMS through 1.0.428 does not prevent use of .htaccess in themes, which allows remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary PHP code by downloading a theme ZIP archive from /backend/cms/themes, and then uploading and importing a modified archive with two new files: a .php file and a .htaccess file. NOTE: the vendor says "I don't think [an attacker able to login to the system under an account that has access to manage/upload themes] is a threat model that we need to be considering.
- Record
EUVD-2017-8110- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-qhc2-3cg3-6xhg
** DISPUTED ** October CMS through 1.0.428 does not prevent use of .htaccess in themes, which...
** DISPUTED ** October CMS through 1.0.428 does not prevent use of .htaccess in themes, which allows remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary PHP code by downloading a theme ZIP archive from /backend/cms/themes, and then uploading and importing a modified archive with two new files: a .php file and a .htaccess file. NOTE: the vendor says "I don't think [an attacker able to login to the system under an account that has access to manage/upload themes] is a threat model that we need to be considering."
- Record
GHSA-qhc2-3cg3-6xhg- CVSS 3.0
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-434
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
October CMS through 1.0.428 does not prevent use of .htaccess in themes, which allows remote authenticated users to execute arbitrary PHP code by downloading a theme ZIP archive from /backend/cms/themes, and then uploading and importing a modified archive with two new files: a .php file and a .htaccess file. NOTE: the vendor says "I don't think [an attacker able to login to the system under an account that has access to manage/upload themes] is a threat model that we need to be considering.
- Record
CVE-2017-16941- CVSS 3.0
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2017-16941 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 8.8) in Octobercms October, published November 25, 2017. Its validity is disputed. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.56%, the 75th percentile.