CVE-2024-11501
📋 TL;DR
The Gallery WordPress plugin up to version 1.3 contains a PHP object injection vulnerability via the wd_gallery_$id parameter. This allows authenticated attackers with Contributor-level access or higher to inject malicious PHP objects. While no known POP chain exists in the plugin itself, exploitation could lead to arbitrary file deletion, data theft, or code execution if other vulnerable plugins/themes are present.
💻 Affected Systems
- Gallery WordPress Plugin
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution leading to complete system compromise if a suitable POP chain exists via other installed plugins/themes
Likely Case
Arbitrary file deletion or sensitive data exposure through existing POP chains in common WordPress components
If Mitigated
Limited impact due to lack of suitable POP chain, potentially only causing application errors
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires authenticated access and depends on availability of POP chains from other installed components
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.4 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/multi-gallery/tags/1.4/
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel
2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins
3. Find Gallery plugin
4. Click 'Update Now' if update available
5. If no update available, deactivate and delete plugin
6. Install latest version from WordPress repository
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Gallery Plugin
allTemporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until patched
wp plugin deactivate gallery
Restrict Contributor Access
allRemove Contributor role from untrusted users
wp user list --role=contributor
wp user set-role <username> subscriber
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block requests containing serialized PHP objects
- Restrict access to WordPress admin interface using IP whitelisting or VPN
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel → Plugins → Gallery plugin version. If version is 1.3 or lower, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
wp plugin get gallery --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify Gallery plugin version is 1.4 or higher in WordPress admin panel📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- POST requests to WordPress containing 'wd_gallery_' parameter with serialized data
- PHP unserialize() errors in web server logs
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests with serialized PHP objects in POST parameters
- Unusual file deletion or modification requests from authenticated users
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND ("wd_gallery_" OR "unserialize" OR "O:") AND status=200