CVE-2017-11187
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedphpMyFAQ before 2.9.8 does not properly mitigate brute-force attacks that try many passwords in attempted logins quickly.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidencephpMyFAQ versions prior to 2.9.8 lack proper brute-force attack mitigation, allowing attackers to rapidly attempt unlimited password combinations against login endpoints without rate limiting, account lockout, or CAPTCHA controls.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 2.9.7CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the installed phpMyFAQ versionLocate the version file or check the admin dashboard footer for the exact version numberAffected if The installed version is 2.9.7 or any earlier version
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Verify if rate limiting is configured for login attemptsInspect the phpMyFAQ configuration file for settings that limit login request frequency, or check if the application enforces any request throttling on authentication endpointsAffected if No rate limiting mechanism is found or configured for login endpoints
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Confirm if account lockout after failed logins is enabledCheck configuration files or admin settings for any feature that locks an account after a certain number of failed authentication attemptsAffected if No account lockout or temporary account suspension feature is present or active
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Check if CAPTCHA is required for loginExamine the security or authentication settings in the admin panel or configuration to determine if CAPTCHA is enforced on the login formAffected if CAPTCHA is not required or not enabled for login attempts
A user is affected if their phpMyFAQ version is 2.9.7 or earlier AND none of the brute-force protections (rate limiting, account lockout, or CAPTCHA) are implemented or enabled on the login mechanism.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedUpgrade to phpMyFAQ 2.9.8 or later which includes proper brute-force protection mechanisms, or implement compensating controls such as rate limiting, temporary account lockout, or CAPTCHA at the application or WAF layer.
phpMyFAQ 2.9.8 or later
- 1. Back up your current phpMyFAQ installation and database before proceeding
- 2. Download phpMyFAQ version 2.9.8 or later from the official source at www.phpmyfaq.de
- 3. Replace the existing phpMyFAQ files with the new version files
- 4. Verify that the authentication system now properly implements rate limiting or account lockout after multiple failed login attempts
- 5. Test login functionality to ensure normal users can authenticate successfully
- 6. Confirm brute-force protection is active by attempting multiple failed logins (should be blocked or throttled)
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,664.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-11187 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2017-11187 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data