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Deserialization of Untrusted DataWeakness · CWE-502

CVE-2026-59518

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-07-13
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 5 weeks old

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 wpWax Directorist directorist allows Object Injection.This issue affects Directorist: from n/a through <= 8.8.2.

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

A PHP Object Injection vulnerability exists in the Directorist WordPress plugin by wpWax due to insecure deserialization of untrusted data. This allows remote attackers to inject malicious PHP objects, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution through magic methods.

MitigationUpdate Directorist plugin to version 8.8.3 or later to apply the security patch; if unavailable, disable the plugin until a patched version is released.

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 Directorist plugin is installed
    Navigate to WordPress admin > Plugins, or check /wp-content/plugins/ directory for 'directorist' folder, or query database: SELECT * FROM wp_options WHERE option_name = 'active_plugins'
    Affected if Directorist plugin is present in the WordPress installation
  2. Check installed Directorist version
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins > Directorist and view the version number. Alternatively, check the main plugin file header in /wp-content/plugins/directorist/directorist.php for 'Version:' tag
    Affected if Installed version is older than the patched version 8.8.3 (prior to 8.8.3)
  3. Confirm plugin is active
    In WordPress admin > Plugins > Installed Plugins, verify Directorist shows as 'Active', or query: SELECT option_value FROM wp_options WHERE option_name = 'active_plugins' AND option_value LIKE '%directorist%'
    Affected if Directorist plugin is activated and running on the site
  4. Identify PHP Object Injection entry points
    Review server access logs for requests to Directorist endpoints containing serialized PHP objects (look for strings like 'O:', 'a:', 'C:' in GET/POST parameters). Check for unserialize() calls in plugin PHP files within /wp-content/plugins/directorist/
    Affected if Plugin processes untrusted serialized data through unserialize() without validation, allowing PHP object injection

Environment is affected if Directorist plugin version is installed and active, and the version is older than 8.8.3 where the insecure deserialization vulnerability exists

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 Directorist plugin to version 8.8.3 or later to apply the security patch; if unavailable, disable the plugin until a patched version is released.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Directorist 8.8.3 or later (latest stable release)

  1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Find the Directorist plugin in the list
  4. Click 'Update now' if an update is available, or manually download the latest version from wordpress.org and upload via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin
  5. After updating, verify the new version is at least 8.8.3 or later in Plugins > Installed Plugins
  6. Test critical functionality (listings, search, forms) to ensure the update did not break site operations
Caveat Review plugin release notes before upgrading; major version jumps may include template/theme changes that require updates to custom templates

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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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-2026-59518 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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