CVE-2024-7560
📋 TL;DR
The News Flash WordPress theme is vulnerable to PHP object injection through deserialization of untrusted input in the newsflash_post_meta value. This allows authenticated attackers with Editor-level access or higher to inject PHP objects. Exploitation requires a POP chain from another plugin or theme to achieve significant impact.
💻 Affected Systems
- News Flash WordPress Theme
⚠️ 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
If combined with a suitable POP chain from another plugin/theme, attackers could execute arbitrary code, delete files, or retrieve sensitive data, potentially leading to complete system compromise.
Likely Case
Limited impact due to requirement for Editor-level access and lack of known POP chain in the vulnerable software itself. Most likely scenario is denial of service or limited data manipulation.
If Mitigated
With proper access controls limiting Editor roles and monitoring for suspicious activity, impact is minimal to none.
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires: 1) Editor-level access, 2) A suitable POP chain from another plugin/theme, 3) Knowledge of the vulnerability. No known weaponized exploits exist.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 1.1.1 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://themes.trac.wordpress.org/browser/news-flash/1.1.0/page.php#L8
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Appearance > Themes. 3. Check for News Flash theme update. 4. If update available, click Update. 5. If no update available, replace with patched version manually.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Remove Editor Role Access
allLimit users with Editor role to trusted personnel only and implement principle of least privilege.
Disable News Flash Theme
allSwitch to a different WordPress theme until patch can be applied.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict access controls for Editor roles and monitor for suspicious activity
- Deploy web application firewall rules to detect and block PHP object injection attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Appearance > Themes for News Flash theme version. If version is 1.1.0 or earlier, system is vulnerable.Check Version:
wp theme list --field=name,version --status=active (if WP-CLI installed)Verify Fix Applied:
After update, verify News Flash theme version is 1.1.1 or later in WordPress admin panel.📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual POST requests to WordPress admin endpoints containing serialized PHP objects
- Multiple failed authentication attempts followed by successful Editor-level login
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests containing serialized data patterns to WordPress admin-ajax.php or similar endpoints
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("newsflash_post_meta" OR "unserialize" OR "php_object")