CVE-2018-20148
In WordPress before 4.9.9 and 5.x before 5.0.1, contributors could conduct PHP object injection attacks via crafted metadata in a wp.getMediaItem XMLRPC call.
Does this matter?
EPSS puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 26.8%, higher than 98% of all known CVEs. Patch or mitigate before the next change window.
Description
In WordPress before 4.9.9 and 5.x before 5.0.1, contributors could conduct PHP object injection attacks via crafted metadata in a wp.getMediaItem XMLRPC call. This is caused by mishandling of serialized data at phar:// URLs in the wp_get_attachment_thumb_file function in wp-includes/post.php.
- CVSS 3.0
- 9.8 CRITICALCVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS
- 26.82% probability · 98th percentile
- Public exploits
- None in Exploit-DB
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-502
- Affected
- wordpress/wordpress · debian/debian linux
- Source
- cve@mitre.org
EPSS moved from 20.5% on 21 September 2026 to 26.8% on 27 October 2026. The dashed line is the ten per cent mark our analysts treat as “patch before the next change window”.
References
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/106220Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://blog.secarma.co.uk/labs/near-phar-dangerous-unserialization-wherever-you-areExploit, Third Party Advisory
- https://codex.wordpress.org/Version_4.9.9Product, Vendor Advisory
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/02/msg00019.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
- https://wordpress.org/news/2018/12/wordpress-5-0-1-security-release/Release Notes, Vendor Advisory
- https://wordpress.org/support/wordpress-version/version-5-0-1/Release Notes, Vendor Advisory
- https://wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/9171Vendor Advisory
- https://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4401Third Party Advisory
- https://www.zdnet.com/article/wordpress-plugs-bug-that-led-to-google-indexing-some-user-passwords/Press/Media Coverage, Third Party Advisory
- https://www.zdnet.com/article/wordpress-vulnerability-affects-a-third-of-most-popular-websites-online/Press/Media Coverage, Third Party Advisory
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/106220Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
- https://blog.secarma.co.uk/labs/near-phar-dangerous-unserialization-wherever-you-areExploit, Third Party Advisory
- https://codex.wordpress.org/Version_4.9.9Product, Vendor Advisory
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2019/02/msg00019.htmlMailing List, Third Party Advisory
- https://wordpress.org/news/2018/12/wordpress-5-0-1-security-release/Release Notes, Vendor Advisory
- https://wordpress.org/support/wordpress-version/version-5-0-1/Release Notes, Vendor Advisory
- https://wpvulndb.com/vulnerabilities/9171Vendor Advisory
- https://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4401Third Party Advisory
- https://www.zdnet.com/article/wordpress-plugs-bug-that-led-to-google-indexing-some-user-passwords/Press/Media Coverage, Third Party Advisory
- https://www.zdnet.com/article/wordpress-vulnerability-affects-a-third-of-most-popular-websites-online/Press/Media Coverage, Third Party Advisory
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.