dbcve.org
Deserialization of Untrusted DataWeakness · CWE-502

CVE-2024-5726

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-07-18
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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 Timeline Event History plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection in all versions up to, and including, 3.1 via deserialization of untrusted input 'timelines-data' parameter. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Contributor-level access and above, to inject a PHP Object. No known POP chain is present in the vulnerable software. 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.

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 Timeline Event History WordPress plugin (versions up to 3.1) is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection via deserialization of untrusted input in the 'timelines-data' parameter. Authenticated attackers with Contributor-level access or higher can inject arbitrary PHP objects. While no POP chain exists within the plugin itself, attackers could leverage a POP chain from other plugins or themes to achieve remote code execution, file deletion, or data exfiltration.

MitigationUpdate to version 3.2 or later which addresses the deserialization vulnerability. If no patch is available, disable the plugin. Additionally, audit the WordPress environment for other plugins or themes that may provide a usable POP chain.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/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. Locate the Timeline Event History plugin
    Check the wp-content/plugins/ directory for a folder named 'timeline-event-history' or similar. In the plugin folder, open the main PHP file (usually named similarly to the folder) and look for the version declaration in the plugin header comment, or check the readme.txt file for the 'Stable tag' entry.
    Affected if The plugin folder exists in wp-content/plugins/ with a version of 3.1 or lower.
  2. Verify the installed version against affected range
    Compare the version found in step 1 to the affected range: versions up to and including 3.1 are vulnerable. Version 3.2 and later are patched.
    Affected if The installed version is 3.1 or lower.
  3. Confirm contributor-level user access exists
    Review the WordPress user roles on the site. Check if any users have the Contributor role or higher (Contributor, Author, Editor, Administrator). This can be done via the WordPress admin dashboard under Users, or by querying the wp_users and wp_usermeta database tables.
    Affected if At least one user account with Contributor-level or higher access exists on the WordPress site.
  4. Identify potential POP chain sources
    Audit other installed plugins and the active theme in wp-content/plugins/ and wp-content/themes/ for known PHP deserialization vulnerabilities or classes that could serve as POP chain gadgets. Check their versions against known CVEs involving __wakeup, __unserialize, or __destruct methods.
    Affected if Other plugins or themes with deserialization POP chain capabilities are installed and active.

A user is affected if the Timeline Event History plugin is installed at version 3.1 or lower and there is at least one user with Contributor-level access or higher who could submit the 'timelines-data' parameter containing malicious serialized PHP objects.

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 to version 3.2 or later which addresses the deserialization vulnerability. If no patch is available, disable the plugin. Additionally, audit the WordPress environment for other plugins or themes that may provide a usable POP chain.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Timeline Event History version 3.2 or later

  1. Navigate to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Locate the Timeline Event History plugin
  4. Check if the current version is 3.1 or earlier
  5. If vulnerable, click 'Update Now' to upgrade to the latest version (3.2 or later)
  6. Verify the update completed successfully

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
19.0 hours of engineering $3,320
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,312.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-5726 — 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-2024-5726 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