CVE-2022-4680 in Revive Old Posts Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 01/30/2023
The Revive Old Posts WordPress plugin before 9.0.11 unserializes user input provided via the settings, which could allow high privilege users such as admin to perform PHP Object Injection when a suitable gadget is present.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/27/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2022-4680 resides within the Revive Old Posts WordPress plugin, specifically affecting versions prior to 9.0.11. This issue represents a critical security flaw that exploits the plugin's improper handling of user input during the unserialization process. The vulnerability occurs when administrators or other high-privilege users interact with the plugin's settings interface, creating an attack surface that can be leveraged for arbitrary code execution. The flaw stems from the plugin's failure to properly validate and sanitize input data before processing it through PHP's unserialize function, which is inherently dangerous when dealing with user-provided content.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability follows a classic PHP Object Injection pattern where malicious serialized data can be crafted to execute arbitrary code on the target system. When a privileged user loads the plugin settings page, the application processes serialized data that originates from user input without adequate sanitization. This creates an opportunity for attackers who can manipulate the serialized data to include malicious objects that, when unserialized, trigger unintended operations. The vulnerability is particularly concerning because it requires only a user with administrative privileges, which significantly reduces the attack surface compared to vulnerabilities requiring authentication at the application level. This flaw aligns with CWE-502, which specifically addresses the deserialization of untrusted data as a primary weakness in software security implementations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple code execution to potentially compromise entire WordPress installations. An attacker with administrative access could leverage this vulnerability to upload malicious files, modify existing content, escalate privileges further within the system, or establish persistent backdoors. The attack vector is particularly insidious because it operates within the legitimate administrative interface, making it difficult to detect through standard network monitoring. The vulnerability also provides opportunities for attackers to exploit other weaknesses in the WordPress ecosystem, as the compromised system could serve as a launching point for broader attacks against network infrastructure or other connected systems. This represents a significant risk to organizations relying on WordPress for their web presence, as the compromise of a single administrative account could result in complete system takeover.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2022-4680 must address both immediate remediation and long-term security hardening measures. The most critical step involves upgrading the Revive Old Posts plugin to version 9.0.11 or later, which contains the necessary patches to prevent the unsafe unserialization of user input. Organizations should also implement additional security controls such as restricting administrative privileges to only essential personnel, implementing multi-factor authentication for administrative accounts, and monitoring for unusual activity in plugin settings. Network-level protections including web application firewalls and intrusion detection systems can help detect and block attempts to exploit this vulnerability. From a defensive perspective, the vulnerability demonstrates the importance of following secure coding practices as outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and MITRE ATT&CK framework, particularly focusing on preventing deserialization attacks and maintaining least privilege access controls. Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments should be conducted to identify similar patterns in other plugins or custom code implementations that might present similar risks.