CVE-2024-1685 – The Social Media Share Buttons WordPress plugin... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2024-1685?

CVE-2024-1685 has a CVSS score of 8.8 (HIGH). The Social Media Share Buttons WordPress plugin is vulnerable to PHP object injection via the attachmentUrl parameter. Authenticated attackers with subscriber-level access or higher can exploit this to inject malicious PHP objects. While no known POP chain exists in the plugin itself, if other plugins or themes provide one, attackers could delete files, steal data, or execute arbitrary code.

📋 TL;DR

The Social Media Share Buttons WordPress plugin is vulnerable to PHP object injection via the attachmentUrl parameter. Authenticated attackers with subscriber-level access or higher can exploit this to inject malicious PHP objects. While no known POP chain exists in the plugin itself, if other plugins or themes provide one, attackers could delete files, steal data, or execute arbitrary code.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Social Media Share Buttons WordPress plugin

Versions: All versions up to and including 2.1.0

Operating Systems: Any OS running WordPress

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Requires WordPress installation with the vulnerable plugin. Exploitation requires authenticated user access (subscriber level or higher).

📦 What is this software?

Social Media Share Buttons by Sygnoos

View all CVEs affecting Social Media Share Buttons →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

If a POP chain exists via another plugin/theme, attackers could achieve remote code execution, data theft, or complete system compromise.

🟠

Likely Case

Limited impact due to lack of known POP chain in the plugin, but potential for data exposure or file manipulation if other vulnerable components exist.

🟢

If Mitigated

With proper access controls and monitoring, impact is minimal as exploitation requires authenticated access and specific conditions.

🌐 Internet-Facing: HIGH

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires authenticated access and depends on availability of POP chains from other plugins/themes.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 2.1.1 or later

Vendor Advisory: https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/social-media-builder/trunk/classes/SgmbButton.php#L32

Restart Required: No

Instructions:

1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Plugins → Installed Plugins. 3. Find 'Social Media Share Buttons'. 4. Click 'Update Now' if available. 5. Alternatively, download latest version from WordPress repository and replace plugin files.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable vulnerable plugin

all

Temporarily deactivate the Social Media Share Buttons plugin until patched.

Restrict user registration

all

Disable new user registration to prevent attackers from obtaining subscriber accounts.

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement strict access controls and monitor for suspicious user activity
Remove or disable the Social Media Share Buttons plugin entirely

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check WordPress admin panel → Plugins → Social Media Share Buttons → Version. If version is 2.1.0 or lower, system is vulnerable.

Check Version:

wp plugin list --name='social-media-share-buttons' --field=version

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify plugin version is 2.1.1 or higher in WordPress admin panel.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Unusual POST requests to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with attachmentUrl parameter
Multiple failed authentication attempts followed by successful subscriber login

Network Indicators:

HTTP requests containing serialized PHP objects in parameters
Unusual outbound connections from WordPress server

SIEM Query:

source="wordpress.log" AND "attachmentUrl" AND ("POST" OR "admin-ajax")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2024-1685

CVSS v3 Score: 8.8 (HIGH)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-502

Published: March 16, 2024

Last Updated: April 18, 2025

🔗 References

https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/social-media-builder/trunk/classes/SgmbButton.php#L32 Broken Link,Product
https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/9c17d18a-090f-4b35-a257-cfc0a16d5459?source=cve Third Party Advisory
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/social-media-builder/trunk/classes/SgmbButton.php#L32 Broken Link,Product
https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/9c17d18a-090f-4b35-a257-cfc0a16d5459?source=cve Third Party Advisory

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🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

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