CVE-2024-0825 in Vimeography Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 03/05/2024
The Vimeography: Vimeo Video Gallery WordPress Plugin plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection in all versions up to, and including, 2.3.2 via deserialization of untrusted input via the vimeography_duplicate_gallery_serialized in the duplicate_gallery function. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers attackers, with contributor access or higher, to inject a PHP Object. No POP chain is present in the vulnerable plugin. If a POP chain is present via an additional plugin or theme installed on the target system, it could allow the attacker to delete arbitrary files, retrieve sensitive data, or execute code.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/12/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-0825 affects the Vimeography: Vimeo Video Gallery WordPress Plugin, a widely used media management tool that integrates Vimeo video galleries into WordPress websites. This security flaw represents a critical PHP Object Injection vulnerability that exists across all versions up to and including 2.3.2, creating a significant risk for WordPress installations that rely on this plugin for video content management. The vulnerability specifically manifests through the improper handling of serialized data within the plugin's duplicate_gallery function, where untrusted input from the vimeography_duplicate_gallery_serialized parameter is directly deserialized without adequate sanitization or validation.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when authenticated attackers with contributor-level privileges or higher submit malicious serialized PHP objects through the plugin's administrative interface. This deserialization process allows the attacker to inject arbitrary PHP objects into the application's memory space, effectively bypassing normal input validation mechanisms. The vulnerability maps directly to CWE-502 which specifically addresses Deserialization of Untrusted Data, a category that encompasses the dangerous practice of processing unverified serialized data without proper security measures. The absence of a POP (Points of No Return) chain within the vulnerable plugin itself means that the attack vector alone cannot directly execute arbitrary code, but it creates a dangerous foothold that can be leveraged by attackers who have installed additional vulnerable plugins or themes on the same WordPress instance.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple privilege escalation, as it creates a potential pathway for attackers to perform more severe actions including arbitrary file deletion, data exfiltration, and remote code execution. This risk becomes particularly dangerous when considering that WordPress environments often have multiple plugins and themes installed, each potentially containing vulnerable components that could form a complete exploitation chain. The vulnerability affects the core integrity of the WordPress application by allowing unauthorized manipulation of the application's object model, potentially leading to complete system compromise. Attackers can exploit this weakness to establish persistent access, manipulate content, or extract sensitive information from the target environment.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2024-0825 should prioritize immediate plugin updates to the latest available version that contains the necessary security patches. Organizations should also implement comprehensive monitoring of administrative activities and unauthorized plugin modifications to detect potential exploitation attempts. Network-level defenses including web application firewalls and intrusion detection systems can help identify and block malicious serialized data attempts. Security hardening measures such as restricting contributor-level permissions, implementing role-based access controls, and conducting regular security audits of installed plugins and themes should be enforced. The vulnerability also underscores the importance of maintaining up-to-date security practices and following the principle of least privilege, where administrative access is granted only to users who require such capabilities for their legitimate work functions. Additionally, implementing proper input validation and output encoding mechanisms can help prevent similar vulnerabilities from occurring in other parts of the WordPress ecosystem, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1059.007 for Command and Scripting Interpreter usage in defensive security practices.