CVE-2024-1813

Simple Job Board <= 2.11.0 - Unauthenticated PHP Object Injection via Job Application Fields

2024-03-15 00:00
Francesco Carlucci

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 2.11.1
Affected Plugin
Simple Job Board
Affected Version
<= 2.11.0
CVSS
9.8Critical
Weakness type
CWE-502 · Deserialization of Untrusted Data
CVE
CVE-2024-1813
View all Simple Job Board vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2024-1813 is a critical-severity Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in the Simple Job Board WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 2.11.0. 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 2.11.1; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed March 2024, reported by Francesco Carlucci.

Vulnerability Overview

The Simple Job Board plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection in all versions up to, and including, 2.11.0 via deserialization of untrusted input in the job_board_applicant_list_columns_value 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 when a submitted job application is viewed.

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 Simple Job Board <= 2.11.0 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 Simple Job Board the fix is 2.11.1: builds <= 2.11.0 are affected, anything from 2.11.1 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 2.11.1, 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: Simple Job Board 2.11.1 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Scanner
  • Login Security

External References

Related records

Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C