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Vulnerability record · CVE-2018-20148 · published 14 December 2018

CVE-2018-20148: Wordpress deserialization of untrusted data vulnerability

Wordpress · Wordpress

In WordPress before 4.9.9 and 5.x before 5.0.1, contributors could conduct PHP object injection attacks via crafted metadata in a wp.getMediaItem XMLRPC call. This is caused by mishandling of serialized data at phar:// URLs in the wp_get_attachment_thumb_file function in wp-includes/post.php.

9.8 CVSS 3.0 Critical EPSS 27% · top 2.0% CWE-502 · Deserialization of untrusted data
9.8CVSS 3.0 base score, v2 7.5
27%EPSS exploitation probability, 30 days
NoNot in CISA KEV
2Affected product versions listed by NVD
20References, 2 tagged exploit
17 Jun 2026Last modified by NVD

Description

In WordPress before 4.9.9 and 5.x before 5.0.1, contributors could conduct PHP object injection attacks via crafted metadata in a wp.getMediaItem XMLRPC call. This is caused by mishandling of serialized data at phar:// URLs in the wp_get_attachment_thumb_file function in wp-includes/post.php.

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected products

2 vulnerable configurations from NVD's CPE data, grouped by vendor and product.

References

LinkTags
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/106220 Third Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
https://blog.secarma.co.uk/labs/near-phar-dangerous-unserialization-wherever-you-are ExploitThird Party Advisory
https://codex.wordpress.org/Version_4.9.9 ProductVendor Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/02/msg00019.html Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
https://wordpress.org/news/2018/12/wordpress-5-0-1-security-release/ Release NotesVendor Advisory
https://wordpress.org/support/wordpress-version/version-5-0-1/ Release NotesVendor Advisory
https://wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/9171 Vendor Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4401 Third Party Advisory
https://www.zdnet.com/article/wordpress-plugs-bug-that-led-to-google-indexing-some-user-passwords/ Press/Media CoverageThird Party Advisory
https://www.zdnet.com/article/wordpress-vulnerability-affects-a-third-of-most-popular-websites-online/ Press/Media CoverageThird Party Advisory
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/106220 Third Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
https://blog.secarma.co.uk/labs/near-phar-dangerous-unserialization-wherever-you-are ExploitThird Party Advisory
https://codex.wordpress.org/Version_4.9.9 ProductVendor Advisory
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/02/msg00019.html Mailing ListThird Party Advisory
https://wordpress.org/news/2018/12/wordpress-5-0-1-security-release/ Release NotesVendor Advisory
https://wordpress.org/support/wordpress-version/version-5-0-1/ Release NotesVendor Advisory
https://wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/9171 Vendor Advisory
https://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4401 Third Party Advisory
https://www.zdnet.com/article/wordpress-plugs-bug-that-led-to-google-indexing-some-user-passwords/ Press/Media CoverageThird Party Advisory
https://www.zdnet.com/article/wordpress-vulnerability-affects-a-third-of-most-popular-websites-online/ Press/Media CoverageThird Party Advisory

Track CVE-2018-20148 inside VULONE

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Same products first, then exploited flaws of the same weakness class.

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Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2018-20148), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-27). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.