CVE-2026-7637
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 · uneditedThe Boost plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection in versions up to, and including, 2.0.3 via deserialization of untrusted input in the STYXKEY-BOOST_USER_LOCATION cookie. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject a PHP Object. No known POP chain is present in the vulnerable software, which means this vulnerability has no impact unless another plugin or theme containing a POP chain is installed on the site. If a POP chain is present via an additional plugin or theme installed on the target system, it may allow the attacker to perform actions like delete arbitrary files, retrieve sensitive data, or execute code depending on the POP chain present.
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 confidenceThe Boost plugin for WordPress versions up to 2.0.3 is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection via deserialization of untrusted input in the STYXKEY-BOOST_USER_LOCATION cookie. Unauthenticated attackers can inject arbitrary PHP objects, though exploitation requires a separate plugin or theme with a POP chain to achieve meaningful impact such as code execution or file manipulation.
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Check if Boost plugin is installedIn WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for a plugin named Boost, or inspect the wp-content/plugins directory for a boost folderAffected if The Boost plugin is present in the WordPress installation
-
Determine installed Boost plugin versionIn WordPress admin Plugins list, find the Boost plugin and note the version number displayed, or check the main plugin file header for the Version fieldAffected if The installed version is 2.0.3 or any earlier version (versions up to and including 2.0.3 are affected)
-
Verify cookie processing existsInspect the Boost plugin code for handling of the STYXKEY-BOOST_USER_LOCATION cookie, typically in the main plugin file or files handling user location/geolocation featuresAffected if The plugin processes the STYXKEY-BOOST_USER_LOCATION cookie value without proper validation
-
Check for POP chain candidatesReview all other installed plugins and themes for known PHP Object Injection vulnerabilities that could provide a usable POP chain when combined with this flawAffected if Any installed plugin or theme contains a deserialization gadget or POP chain that could be triggered
You are affected if the Boost plugin version is 2.0.3 or lower AND your site has other plugins or themes with exploitable POP chains that could be triggered via the unsafe deserialization of the STYXKEY-BOOST_USER_LOCATION cookie.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpdate the Boost plugin to the latest version once available. Additionally, audit and remove or update any third-party plugins or themes that could provide a usable POP chain for this vulnerability.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-7637 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-7637 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
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.
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.
- 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