Search Regex 3.5 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Remote Code Execution via User Meta Serialized String Corruption
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 3.5.1
- Affected Plugin
- Search Regex
- Affected Version
<= 3.5- CVSS
- 8.0High
- Weakness type
- CWE-502 · Deserialization of Untrusted Data
- CVE
CVE-2026-104932
At a glance
CVE-2026-104932 is a high-severity Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in the Search Regex WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 3.5. It carries a CVSS score of 8.0 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Subscriber level or above. The issue is fixed in version 3.5.1; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed October 2026, reported by R3D.
Vulnerability Overview
The Search Regex plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection in version 3.5 via deserialization of untrusted input in the replace_all function. This allows authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to inject a PHP Object. The additional presence of a POP chain allows attackers to 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. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.
CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data
Reaching this weakness in Search Regex <= 3.5 takes an account at Subscriber 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 Search Regex the fix is 3.5.1: builds <= 3.5 are affected, anything from 3.5.1 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 3.5.1, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
An attacker needs Subscriber 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: Search Regex 3.5.1 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Scanner
- Alerts
External References
Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C