dbcve.org
Meta NewsWordPress extension · Themehorse

CVE-2024-50435

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-10-28
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.1.8 or later.
See remediation →
95/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in themehorse Meta News meta-news.This issue affects Meta News: from n/a through <= 1.1.7.

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 · moderate confidence

A PHP Remote File Inclusion (RFI) vulnerability exists in the Meta News theme where the application fails to properly validate filenames used in include/require statements. This allows remote attackers to inject malicious URLs or file paths, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution on the server.

MitigationUpdate Meta News to the latest patched version. Until a patch is available, disable the theme, disable PHP's allow_url_include directive in php.ini, and implement web application firewall rules to block suspicious include/require requests.

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

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Meta NewsWordPress extension
Affected:< 1.1.8

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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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. Locate Meta News theme files
    Check your WordPress themes directory (wp-content/themes/) for a folder named 'meta-news', 'meta-news-child', or similar variants from Themehorse. Note the full path to the theme directory.
    Affected if The Meta News theme directory exists in your WordPress installation
  2. Identify installed Meta News version
    Open the style.css file within the Meta News theme folder and look for the 'Version:' declaration in the theme header comments. Compare this version number against 1.1.8.
    Affected if The declared version is below 1.1.8 or if the version line is missing entirely
  3. Verify PHP allow_url_include setting
    Create a PHP info file (info.php) with content '<?php phpinfo(); ?>' in your web root, access it via browser, and search for 'allow_url_include'. Alternatively, check your php.ini configuration file for this directive.
    Affected if allow_url_include is set to On (enabled)
  4. Examine theme for vulnerable include/require patterns
    Search all PHP files in the Meta News theme folder for include(), require(), include_once(), or require_once() statements that use variables without sanitization, particularly looking for patterns like 'include($variable)' or 'require($_GET[...]' in core theme PHP files.
    Affected if Unvalidated variable-based include/require statements are found in the theme files

You are affected if the Meta News theme version is below 1.1.8 AND the theme is active on your WordPress site.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.1.8 or later
Fixed in 1.1.8
Interim mitigation

Update Meta News to the latest patched version. Until a patch is available, disable the theme, disable PHP's allow_url_include directive in php.ini, and implement web application firewall rules to block suspicious include/require requests.

Recommended fix High confidence

Meta News version 1.1.8

  1. 1. Create a full backup of your WordPress site (database and files) before proceeding with any updates.
  2. 2. Navigate to Dashboard > Appearance > Themes in your WordPress admin panel.
  3. 3. Locate the Meta News theme in your installed themes.
  4. 4. Check if an update is available. If automatic updates are enabled, the theme may update automatically. Otherwise, manually update to version 1.1.8.
  5. 5. Alternatively, download Meta News version 1.1.8 from the official WordPress theme repository or themehorse website, then upload and install it.
  6. 6. After updating, verify the theme version shows 1.1.8 in your themes panel.
  7. 7. Test critical site functionality to ensure the update did not break any features.
  8. 8. Consider enabling automatic background updates for themes to receive future security patches promptly.
Caveat Security patch update; minimal risk of breaking changes, but test site functionality after applying

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

Fix this in Meta News Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2024-50435 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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