CVE-2023-3154

WordPress Gallery Plugin – NextGEN Gallery <= 3.38 - Authenticated (Admin+) PHAR Deserialization

2023-09-25 00:00
Linwz

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 3.39
Affected Plugin
Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery
Affected Version
<= 3.38
CVSS
7.2High
Weakness type
CWE-502 · Deserialization of Untrusted Data
CVE
CVE-2023-3154
View all Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes – NextGEN Gallery vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2023-3154 is a high-severity Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in the Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 3.38. It carries a CVSS score of 7.2 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Admin level or above. The issue is fixed in version 3.39; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed September 2023, reported by Linwz.

Vulnerability Overview

The WordPress Gallery Plugin – NextGEN Gallery plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to PHAR Deserialization in all versions up to, and including, 3.38 via deserialization of untrusted input in the gallery_edit function. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with administrative-level access and above, to inject a PHP Object. No POP chain is present in the vulnerable plugin. 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 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 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes <= 3.38 takes an account at Admin 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 Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes the fix is 3.39: builds <= 3.38 are affected, anything from 3.39 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 3.39, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

An attacker needs Admin 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: Photo Gallery, Sliders, Proofing and Themes 3.39 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Scanner
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-3154https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/edaec73f-25b5-4ace-afef-844eb4143bf2https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-3154

Related records

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