CVE-2026-3017

Smart Post Show – Post Grid, Post Carousel & Slider, and List Category Posts <= 3.0.12 - Authenticated (Administrator+) PHP Object Injection

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 3.0.13
Affected Version
<= 3.0.12
CVSS
7.2High
Weakness type
CWE-502 · Deserialization of Untrusted Data
CVE
CVE-2026-3017
View all Smart Post – Post Grid, Post Carousel, Post Slider Gutenberg Blocks for Blog & News vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2026-3017 is a high-severity Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in the Smart Post WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 3.0.12. 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 Administrator level or above. The issue is fixed in version 3.0.13; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed April 2026, reported by Vilaysone CHANTHAVONG (0xJ0cKkY).

Vulnerability Overview

The Smart Post Show – Post Grid, Post Carousel & Slider, and List Category Posts plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection in all versions up to, and including, 3.0.12 via deserialization of untrusted input in the import_shortcodes() function. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Administrator-level access and above, to inject a PHP Object. No known POP chain is present in the vulnerable software, which means this vulnerability has no impact unless another plugin or theme containing a POP chain is installed on the site. If a POP chain is present via an additional plugin or theme installed on the target system, it may allow the attacker to perform actions like delete arbitrary files, retrieve sensitive data, or execute code depending on the POP chain present.

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

Smart Post <= 3.0.12 carries this weakness at import_shortcodes(), 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 Smart Post the fix is 3.0.13: builds <= 3.0.12 are affected, anything from 3.0.13 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 3.0.13, 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: Smart Post 3.0.13 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Scanner
  • Alerts

External References

Related records

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