The GiveWP plugin for WordPress, a popular tool for managing donations and fundraising, has recently undergone a significant security update to address a critical vulnerability. Discovered by researcher villu164, this flaw, identified as CVE-2024-5932, is a PHP Object Injection issue that could lead to remote code execution (RCE). The vulnerability affects all versions of the GiveWP plugin up to and including version 3.14.1, and poses a severe risk as it allows unauthorized attackers to execute arbitrary code and delete files on compromised WordPress sites.
The PHP Object Injection vulnerability arises from the insecure deserialization of untrusted input from the give_title parameter. This flaw enables attackers to inject malicious PHP objects, which can then be exploited to execute arbitrary code remotely. The critical nature of this vulnerability is underscored by its CVSS score of 10.0, indicating the potential for complete site compromise and significant damage to site security and data integrity.
The vulnerability was reported through the Wordfence Bug Bounty Program on May 26, 2024, and led to a bounty reward of $4,998 for villu164. Despite the urgent nature of the issue, the GiveWP developers did not initially respond, prompting Wordfence to escalate the matter to the WordPress.org Security Team. A fix was eventually released on August 7, 2024, in version 3.14.2 of the GiveWP plugin, addressing the critical flaw and mitigating the associated risks.
To protect their websites from potential exploitation, users of the GiveWP plugin are strongly advised to update to version 3.14.2 as soon as possible. The update resolves the PHP Object Injection vulnerability and helps safeguard against unauthorized code execution and data loss. This incident highlights the importance of timely patching and maintaining updated security measures to defend against emerging threats in the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity.
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