The Events Calendar Pro <= 7.0.2 - Authenticated (Administrator+) PHP Object Injection to Remote Code Execution
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 7.0.2.1
- Affected Plugin
- The Events Calendar Pro
- Affected Version
<= 7.0.2- CVSS
- 9.1Critical
- Weakness type
- CWE-502 · Deserialization of Untrusted Data
- CVE
CVE-2024-8016
At a glance
CVE-2024-8016 is a critical-severity Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in the The Events Calendar Pro WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 7.0.2. It carries a CVSS score of 9.1 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Administrator level or above. The issue is fixed in version 7.0.2.1; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed August 2024, reported by István Márton.
Vulnerability Overview
The Events Calendar Pro plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection in all versions up to, and including, 7.0.2 via deserialization of untrusted input from the 'filters' parameter in widgets. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with administrator-level access and above, to inject a PHP Object. The additional presence of a POP chain allows attackers to execute code remotely. In certain configurations, this can be exploitable by lower level users. We confirmed that this plugin installed with Elementor makes it possible for users with contributor-level access and above to exploit this issue.
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 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
The Events Calendar Pro <= 7.0.2 carries this weakness at filters, and reaching it takes an account at Administrator level or above. 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 The Events Calendar Pro the fix is 7.0.2.1: builds <= 7.0.2 are affected, anything from 7.0.2.1 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 7.0.2.1, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
An attacker needs Administrator access first, so the firewall sees the attempt as traffic from a logged-in account: 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: The Events Calendar Pro 7.0.2.1 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Scanner
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in The Events Calendar Pro
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