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Deserialization of Untrusted DataWeakness · CWE-502

CVE-2024-13410

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-19
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The CozyStay and TinySalt plugins for WordPress are vulnerable to PHP Object Injection in all versions up to, and including, 1.7.0, and in all versions up to, and including 3.9.0, respectively, via deserialization of untrusted input in the 'ajax_handler' function. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject a PHP Object. No known POP chain is present in the vulnerable software, which means this vulnerability has no impact unless another plugin or theme containing a POP chain is installed on the site. If a POP chain is present via an additional plugin or theme installed on the target system, it may allow the attacker to perform actions like delete arbitrary files, retrieve sensitive data, or execute code depending on the POP chain present.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Two WordPress plugins (CozyStay ≤1.7.0 and TinySalt ≤3.9.0) are vulnerable to PHP Object Injection via unsafe deserialization of untrusted input in the ajax_handler function. Unauthenticated attackers can inject arbitrary PHP objects, though exploitation requires a POP chain to be present from another plugin or theme.

MitigationUpdate both plugins to patched versions if available; otherwise remove them. Audit installed plugins/themes for POP chain capabilities and implement strict input validation on any ajax handlers using deserialization.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check if CozyStay plugin is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'CozyStay', or inspect the /wp-content/plugins/ directory for a cozystay folder. Check the plugin header for the version number.
    Affected if CozyStay version 1.7.0 or lower is installed
  2. Check if TinySalt plugin is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'TinySalt', or inspect the /wp-content/plugins/ directory for a tinysalt folder. Check the plugin header for the version number.
    Affected if TinySalt version 3.9.0 or lower is installed
  3. Locate the ajax_handler function in either plugin
    Inspect the plugin files (typically in the main plugin PHP file or an ajax.php file) and search for the function named 'ajax_handler'. Examine its code for calls to unserialize() receiving data from $_POST, $_GET, or $_REQUEST.
    Affected if The ajax_handler function uses unserialize() on untrusted input without sanitization
  4. Verify the ajax endpoint is accessible without authentication
    Check the wp_ajax and wp_ajax_nopriv hooks registering the ajax_handler function. If both hooks are present, the endpoint is accessible to unauthenticated users.
    Affected if The ajax_handler is registered with wp_ajax_nopriv hook, making it accessible without login

You are affected if either CozyStay ≤1.7.0 or TinySalt ≤3.9.0 is installed and their ajax_handler function performs unsafe deserialization on unauthenticated requests, regardless of whether a POP chain currently exists in your environment.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update both plugins to patched versions if available; otherwise remove them. Audit installed plugins/themes for POP chain capabilities and implement strict input validation on any ajax handlers using deserialization.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-13410 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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