CVE-2017-20247: PICA Photo Gallery SQLi Vulnerability

CVE-2017-20247 Overview

CVE-2017-20247 is an SQL injection vulnerability in the WordPress Plugin PICA Photo Gallery version 1.0, developed by Apptha. The flaw resides in the handling of the aid HTTP GET parameter, which is concatenated directly into a backend SQL query without sanitization or parameterization. Unauthenticated remote attackers can append arbitrary SQL syntax to extract database contents, including WordPress user credentials, session tokens, and arbitrary table data. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command).

Critical Impact
Unauthenticated attackers can exfiltrate the WordPress database, including wp_users password hashes, by sending a single crafted HTTP GET request to a vulnerable site.

Affected Products

WordPress Plugin PICA Photo Gallery 1.0 (Apptha)
WordPress sites with the PICA Photo Gallery plugin installed and activated
Any deployment exposing the vulnerable aid parameter endpoint to network traffic

Discovery Timeline

2026-06-09 - CVE-2017-20247 published to NVD
2026-06-09 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2017-20247

Vulnerability Analysis

The PICA Photo Gallery plugin accepts the aid parameter through an HTTP GET request and embeds the supplied value directly into an SQL statement. No prepared statements, type casting, or input filtering are applied. An attacker can break out of the intended query context using standard SQL injection syntax such as UNION SELECT payloads or boolean-based blind techniques.

Because the affected endpoint does not require authentication, exploitation requires no valid WordPress account, session cookie, or user interaction. The injected query executes with the database privileges of the WordPress application user, which typically holds full read and write access to the WordPress schema.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper neutralization of user-supplied input before it reaches the SQL interpreter. The plugin developer concatenated the aid value into the query string rather than using the WordPress $wpdb->prepare() API or PDO parameter binding. This pattern is a textbook [CWE-89] failure that has been documented in WordPress plugin security guidance for over a decade.

Attack Vector

Exploitation occurs over the network through a single HTTP GET request to the vulnerable plugin endpoint. The attacker supplies SQL metacharacters and statement fragments in the aid query string parameter. A typical attack chain involves first enumerating database schema using information_schema queries, then extracting wp_users rows to obtain usernames and bcrypt password hashes for offline cracking.

Technical details and a proof-of-concept payload are documented in the Exploit-DB #41569 entry and the VulnCheck Advisory. The vulnerability mechanism is described in prose because no verified, sanitized code snippet is available within the enriched dataset.

Detection Methods for CVE-2017-20247

Indicators of Compromise

HTTP GET requests to PICA Photo Gallery endpoints containing SQL keywords such as UNION, SELECT, SLEEP(, information_schema, or 0x hex-encoded payloads in the aid parameter.
Web server access logs showing repeated requests with progressively modified aid values, indicating boolean-based or time-based blind SQL injection enumeration.
Unexpected database errors or long query response times correlated with requests to the plugin's URL path.
Outbound connections from the web server to attacker infrastructure shortly after suspicious aid parameter activity.

Detection Strategies

Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules that flag SQL metacharacters and reserved keywords in the aid query parameter.
Correlate HTTP access logs with database query logs to identify requests that trigger anomalous query patterns or full table scans on wp_users.
Hunt for HTTP responses to plugin endpoints with abnormally large response bodies, which may indicate successful UNION-based data exfiltration.

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable WordPress and MySQL query logging on hosts running the plugin and forward logs to a centralized analytics platform.
Alert on HTTP 500 responses from PICA Photo Gallery URLs, which often surface during SQL injection probing.
Monitor authentication logs for credential stuffing or brute-force activity following any suspected database extraction event.

How to Mitigate CVE-2017-20247

Immediate Actions Required

Deactivate and remove the PICA Photo Gallery plugin from all WordPress installations until a patched version is confirmed available.
Rotate all WordPress user passwords and invalidate active sessions, assuming credential disclosure has occurred.
Review the database for unauthorized administrative accounts, modified user roles, or tampered options in wp_options.
Audit recent web server logs for historical exploitation attempts against the aid parameter.

Patch Information

No vendor patch is referenced in the NVD record for CVE-2017-20247. The plugin appears to be unmaintained based on the available references. Administrators should consult the Apptha Homepage for any vendor updates and review the VulnCheck Advisory for the latest remediation guidance. If no fixed version is published, permanent removal of the plugin is the recommended path.

Workarounds

Block HTTP requests containing SQL metacharacters in the aid parameter at the WAF or reverse proxy layer.
Restrict access to the plugin's endpoints using server-level access controls such as .htaccess rules or Nginx location directives.
Replace PICA Photo Gallery with an actively maintained gallery plugin that follows WordPress secure coding standards using $wpdb->prepare().
Apply least-privilege principles to the WordPress database user, removing unnecessary FILE, CREATE, or DROP privileges to limit injection impact.

bash

# Example ModSecurity rule to block SQL keywords in the aid parameter
SecRule ARGS:aid "@rx (?i)(union(.|\n)*select|information_schema|sleep\(|benchmark\(|--|;)" \
    "id:1020247,phase:2,deny,status:403,log,msg:'CVE-2017-20247 PICA Photo Gallery SQLi attempt'"