dbcve.org
Deserialization of Untrusted DataWeakness · CWE-502

CVE-2024-1792

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-04-09
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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 CMB2 plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection in all versions up to, and including, 2.10.1 via deserialization of untrusted input from the text_datetime_timestamp_timezone field. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor access or higher, to inject a PHP Object. No POP chain is present in the vulnerable plugin. If a POP chain is present via an additional plugin or theme installed on the target system, it could allow the attacker to delete arbitrary files, retrieve sensitive data, or execute code. Please note that the plugin is a developer toolkit. For the vulnerability to become exploitable, the presence of a metabox activation in your code (via functions.php for example) is required.

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

The CMB2 WordPress plugin is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection via deserialization of untrusted input in the text_datetime_timestamp_timezone field. Authenticated attackers with contributor-level access or higher can inject arbitrary PHP objects. Since no POP chain exists within the plugin itself, exploitation requires either a vulnerable unserialize() call elsewhere or an additional plugin/theme providing a POP chain to achieve code execution.

MitigationUpdate CMB2 to version 2.10.2 or later. Additionally, audit installed plugins and themes for POP chains, and review all CMB2 metabox activations in functions.php to determine if the vulnerable field type is in use.

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
High
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/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. Verify CMB2 plugin is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'CMB2'. Note the installed version number.
    Affected if CMB2 is installed and the version is below 2.10.2 (the fixed version)
  2. Locate CMB2 metabox definitions
    Search your theme's functions.php file and any custom plugin files for 'new_cmb2_box' or 'CMB2::new_from_defaults' calls that define metaboxes.
    Affected if CMB2 metaboxes are defined in the codebase
  3. Identify vulnerable field type usage
    Within the metabox field arrays found, search for 'text_datetime_timestamp_timezone' as a 'type' value. Example: array('name' => 'Date', 'id' => 'my_date', 'type' => 'text_datetime_timestamp_timezone')
    Affected if The text_datetime_timestamp_timezone field type is actively used in any metabox configuration
  4. Check for unserialize() calls in other plugins
    Review all active plugins and the theme for direct calls to unserialize() on user-controlled data, particularly $_GET, $_POST, or metabox field values.
    Affected if A separate plugin or theme contains an unserialize() call that processes input from authenticated users
  5. Audit for POP chain gadgets
    Examine installed plugins and themes for classes with magic methods (__wakeup, __destruct, __toString, __call) that could be chained with the PHP Object Injection to achieve code execution.
    Affected if Any installed plugin or theme provides a POP chain that can be triggered via the injected PHP object

You are affected if CMB2 with version below 2.10.2 is installed AND the text_datetime_timestamp_timezone field type is in use AND either an external unserialize() vulnerability or a POP chain exists in other plugins/themes.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update CMB2 to version 2.10.2 or later. Additionally, audit installed plugins and themes for POP chains, and review all CMB2 metabox activations in functions.php to determine if the vulnerable field type is in use.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

CMB2 version 2.10.2 or later (latest stable release)

  1. Navigate to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Find CMB2 in the plugin list
  4. Check if the current version is 2.10.1 or earlier
  5. If vulnerable, click 'Update Now' to update to the latest version
  6. Alternatively, download the latest version from wordpress.org/plugins/cmb2/ and upload via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin
  7. Verify the update was successful by checking the plugin version after updating
Caveat Minimal risk - this is a security patch update; however, test the update in a staging environment first if you have custom metabox implementations using text_datetime_timestamp_timezone fields

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,770
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,832.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-1792 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2024-1792 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data