CVE-2020-4043
phpMussel from versions 1.0.0 and less than 1.6.0 has an unserialization vulnerability in PHP's phar wrapper.
Does this matter?
High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (2.60%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.
Description
phpMussel from versions 1.0.0 and less than 1.6.0 has an unserialization vulnerability in PHP's phar wrapper. Uploading a specially crafted file to an affected version allows arbitrary code execution (discovered, tested, and confirmed by myself), so the risk factor should be regarded as very high. Newer phpMussel versions don't use PHP's phar wrapper, and are therefore unaffected. This has been fixed in version 1.6.0.
- CVSS 3.1
- 9.8 CRITICALCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS
- 2.60% probability · 85th percentile
- Public exploits
- None in Exploit-DB
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-502
- Affected
- phpmussel project/phpmussel
- Source
- security-advisories@github.com
EPSS 2.6% since 26 October 2026; no change recorded yet. Points are recorded when the score first appears and whenever it moves by a percentage point or more.
References
- https://github.com/phpMussel/phpMussel/commit/97f25973433921c1f953430f32d3081adc4851a4Patch, Release Notes, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/phpMussel/phpMussel/issues/167Patch, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/phpMussel/phpMussel/pull/173Patch, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/phpMussel/phpMussel/security/advisories/GHSA-qr95-4mq5-r3fhMitigation, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/phpMussel/phpMussel/security/policy#currently-known-vulnerabilitiesThird Party Advisory
- https://github.com/phpMussel/phpMussel/commit/97f25973433921c1f953430f32d3081adc4851a4Patch, Release Notes, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/phpMussel/phpMussel/issues/167Patch, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/phpMussel/phpMussel/pull/173Patch, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/phpMussel/phpMussel/security/advisories/GHSA-qr95-4mq5-r3fhMitigation, Third Party Advisory
- https://github.com/phpMussel/phpMussel/security/policy#currently-known-vulnerabilitiesThird Party Advisory
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.