Deserialization in Wordpress

CVE-2018-20148

In WordPress before 4.9.9 and 5.x before 5.0.1, contributors could conduct PHP object injection attacks via crafted metadata in a wp.getMediaItem XMLRPC call. This is caused by mishandling of serialized data at phar:// URLs in the wp_get_attachment_thumb_file function in wp-includes/post.php.

Vulnerability class: Insecure Deserialization

EPSS: 0.309 (98.1th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.8 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

  • cve@mitre.org (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry, x_refsource_BID)
  • cve@mitre.org (x_refsource_MISC, Release Notes, Vendor Advisory)
  • cve@mitre.org (Exploit, Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_MISC)
  • cve@mitre.org (Product, x_refsource_MISC, Vendor Advisory)
  • cve@mitre.org (x_refsource_MISC, Vendor Advisory)
  • cve@mitre.org (Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_MISC, Press/Media Coverage)
  • cve@mitre.org (vendor-advisory, Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_DEBIAN)
  • cve@mitre.org (x_refsource_MISC, Release Notes, Vendor Advisory)
  • cve@mitre.org (mailing-list, x_refsource_MLIST, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
  • cve@mitre.org (Third Party Advisory, x_refsource_MISC, Press/Media Coverage)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-20148?
CVE-2018-20148 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Wordpress, classified under Deserialization of Untrusted Data. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2018-12-14.
How severe is CVE-2018-20148?
Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2018-20148 known to be exploited?
11 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.