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Deserialization of Untrusted DataWeakness · CWE-502

CVE-2026-27438

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-05
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 ThemeREX Kingler kingler allows Object Injection.This issue affects Kingler: from n/a through <= 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

ThemeREX Kingler theme contains a PHP Object Injection vulnerability due to unsafe deserialization of untrusted data (likely an unserialize() call on user-controlled input). This can allow remote attackers to inject malicious PHP objects, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpdate to a patched version of ThemeREX Kingler. If no patch exists, remove or disable the theme and audit code for unsafe unserialize() calls on external input, replacing with safer alternatives like json_decode with validation.

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. Identify if ThemeREX Kingler theme is installed
    Look for theme folder at wp-content/themes/kingler or check theme name in style.css header
    Affected if ThemeREX Kingler theme is present in the WordPress themes directory
  2. Search for unserialize() calls in theme PHP files
    Run grep -r 'unserialize' within the theme directory or use a file search to locate all PHP files containing 'unserialize'
    Affected if Any PHP file in the theme contains an unserialize() call
  3. Check if unserialize receives external input
    Examine the found unserialize() calls and trace whether the data being deserialized comes from $_GET, $_POST, $_COOKIE, or similar superglobals without sanitization
    Affected if Unserialize is called on data from user-controlled sources like request parameters or cookies
  4. Identify the vulnerable code path
    Look for the specific pattern: unserialize() being called on input that is not validated through json_decode or other safe methods
    Affected if The theme contains code that passes raw external input directly to unserialize() without prior validation

If ThemeREX Kingler theme is installed AND contains PHP files with unserialize() calls that process untrusted external input, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.

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 to a patched version of ThemeREX Kingler. If no patch exists, remove or disable the theme and audit code for unsafe unserialize() calls on external input, replacing with safer alternatives like json_decode with validation.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2026-27438 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
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