CVE-2024-8016
Published: 30 August 2024
Summary
CVE-2024-8016 is a critical-severity Deserialization of Untrusted Data (CWE-502) vulnerability in Theeventscalendar Events Calendar Pro. Its CVSS base score is 9.1 (Critical).
Operationally, ranked in the top 9.9% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
Deeper analysis
The Events Calendar Pro plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection (CWE-502) in all versions through 7.0.2. The flaw stems from unsafe deserialization of untrusted data supplied to the 'filters' parameter in widgets, allowing an attacker to supply a serialized PHP object.
Authenticated attackers with administrator-level access can leverage the issue to inject objects; when a suitable POP chain is present, this results in remote code execution. In installations that also include Elementor, the same primitive is reachable by contributor-level users and above, expanding the attack surface beyond the default administrator requirement. The vulnerability received a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.1.
Vendor advisories and release notes for Events Calendar Pro 7.0.2.1 describe the availability of a patch that removes the unsafe deserialization path. The associated EPSS score has remained low and essentially flat (current 0.0517, peak 0.0530), indicating limited observed exploitation interest to date.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2024-48888
Vulnerability details
The Events Calendar Pro plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection in all versions up to, and including, 7.0.2 via deserialization of untrusted input from the 'filters' parameter in widgets. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with…
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administrator-level access and above, to inject a PHP Object. The additional presence of a POP chain allows attackers to execute code remotely. In certain configurations, this can be exploitable by lower level users. We confirmed that this plugin installed with Elementor makes it possible for users with contributor-level access and above to exploit this issue.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Penetration testing supplies malicious serialized objects, detecting unsafe deserialization and supporting corrective actions.
Evaluation of untrusted data handling (deserialization testing) reveals unsafe processing, which the required remediation process addresses.
Untrusted serialized data can be deserialized and observed inside the chamber, blocking gadget-chain exploitation outside the sandbox.
Validates or rejects untrusted serialized data before deserialization occurs.
Identifies and blocks malicious code introduced through deserialization of untrusted data at system boundaries.
Integrity verification of serialized information can detect tampering before deserialization occurs.
Provenance of associated data allows detection of untrusted sources before deserialization or processing occurs.