Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order <= 1.5.2.2 - Authenticated PHP Object Injection
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 1.5.3
- Affected Plugin
- Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order
- Affected Version
< 1.5.3- CVSS
- 8.5High
- Weakness type
- CWE-502 · Deserialization of Untrusted Data
- CVE
CVE pending
At a glance
This record tracks a high-severity Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in the Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order WordPress plugin, affecting versions < 1.5.3. It carries a CVSS score of 8.5 (reachable over the network; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account. The issue is fixed in version 1.5.3; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed February 2018.
Vulnerability Overview
The Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection in versions up to, and including, 1.5.2.2 via deserialization of untrusted input from the 'order' parameter. This allows authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level permissions and above, to inject a PHP Object. No known 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, 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
Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order < 1.5.3 carries this weakness at order, and reaching it takes any authenticated account. 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 Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order the fix is 1.5.3: builds < 1.5.3 are affected, anything from 1.5.3 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 1.5.3, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
The attempt arrives as an ordinary request to Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order: 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: Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 1.5.3 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.
- Firewall
- Scanner
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Other vulnerabilities in Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order
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