Knowledge Base for Documentation, FAQs with AI Assistance <= 11.30.2 - Unauthenticated PHP Object Injection in is_article_recently_viewed
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 11.31.0
- Affected Version
<= 11.30.2- CVSS
- 9.8Critical
- Weakness type
- CWE-502 · Deserialization of Untrusted Data
- CVE
CVE-2024-24842
At a glance
CVE-2024-24842 is a critical-severity Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in the Echo Knowledge Base WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 11.30.2. It carries a CVSS score of 9.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires no authentication. The issue is fixed in version 11.31.0; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed February 2024, reported by Ngô Thiên An (ancorn_).
Vulnerability Overview
The Knowledge Base for Documentation, FAQs with AI Assistance plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection in all versions up to, and including, 11.30.2 via deserialization of untrusted input in the is_article_recently_viewed function. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject a PHP Object. If a POP chain is present via an additional plugin or theme installed on the target system, it could allow the attacker to delete arbitrary files, retrieve sensitive data, or execute code.
Technical Analysis
The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, with low attack complexity — no special timing or configuration is needed, and no privileges on the target site, and no interaction from a victim user. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.
CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data
Reaching this weakness in Echo Knowledge Base <= 11.30.2 takes no account at all. Deserialization of untrusted data means the application reconstructs objects from input a caller controls, letting the attacker choose which classes get instantiated and what their properties hold.
A workable chain turns deserialization into file writes, deletions or code execution, depending on what the loaded classes do in their magic methods. For Echo Knowledge Base the fix is 11.31.0: builds <= 11.30.2 are affected, anything from 11.31.0 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 11.31.0, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
Requests carrying this pattern arrive without a session, so nothing upstream of the firewall gets a chance to reject them: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. Classes like this one can leave something behind, so the staged malware scanner is the second half: it looks for dropped files and modified code rather than for the request that created them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Echo Knowledge Base 11.31.0 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Scanner
- Login Security
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in Echo Knowledge Base – Documentation, FAQs, Chat & Smart Search
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