dbcve.org
Deserialization of Untrusted DataWeakness · CWE-502

CVE-2024-54273

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-12-13
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
Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in PickPlugins Mail Picker mail-picker allows Object Injection.This issue affects Mail Picker: from n/a through <= 1.0.14.

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

This is a PHP Object Injection vulnerability in the PickPlugins Mail Picker plugin caused by unsafe deserialization of untrusted data. The plugin uses PHP's unserialize() function on user-controlled input without proper validation, allowing attackers to craft malicious serialized objects that can execute arbitrary code or conduct further attacks when unserialized.

MitigationReplace unsafe unserialize() calls with safer alternatives like json_decode(), implement proper input validation, or update to a patched version if available. If the vulnerable code cannot be immediately remediated, disable the plugin until a fix is applied.

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. Verify plugin installation
    Check if the PickPlugins Mail Picker plugin is installed in your WordPress environment. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins in the WordPress admin dashboard and look for 'Mail Picker' or 'PickPlugins Mail Picker' in the list. Note the installed version number if visible.
    Affected if The plugin is installed and active in the WordPress site
  2. Locate plugin files
    Access the plugin directory via file manager or FTP. Navigate to /wp-content/plugins/mail-picker/ or similar path containing 'mail-picker' in the name. Identify all PHP files within the plugin.
    Affected if The plugin directory exists and contains PHP files
  3. Search for unsafe unserialize calls
    Use grep, grep -r, or a code search tool to find instances of 'unserialize(' within the plugin's PHP files. Command: grep -r "unserialize(" /path/to/wp-content/plugins/mail-picker/
    Affected if Code contains unserialize() function calls without sanitization
  4. Trace user input to unserialize
    Examine each unserialize() call found. Check if the data being deserialized comes directly or indirectly from PHP superglobals ($_GET, $_POST, $_REQUEST, $_COOKIE) or from database fields that store user-submitted data. Look for patterns like unserialize($_POST['...']) or unserialize($variable_from_request).
    Affected if User-controlled input from HTTP requests reaches the unserialize() function without validation
  5. Check for input validation
    Review the code paths leading to the unserialize() calls. Look for any validation functions, sanitization methods, or type checking between the user input source and the unserialize() call. Search for functions like sanitize_text_field, validation checks, or custom filtering logic.
    Affected if No validation or sanitization is applied to the data before passing it to unserialize() and the data originates from user input

You are affected if the PickPlugins Mail Picker plugin is installed and its code contains unserialize() calls that process unvalidated user-controlled input from HTTP requests.

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

Replace unsafe unserialize() calls with safer alternatives like json_decode(), implement proper input validation, or update to a patched version if available. If the vulnerable code cannot be immediately remediated, disable the plugin until a fix is applied.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Update to the latest available version of Mail Picker (version greater than 1.0.14)

  1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Locate the 'Mail Picker' plugin by PickPlugins
  4. Check if an update is available - if so, update to the latest version
  5. If no update is available in the WordPress repository, contact the vendor (PickPlugins) directly to obtain the patched version
  6. Verify the update was successfully applied after completion

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-54273 — 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-2024-54273 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