CVE-2026-97248 in Booking Activities Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 09/30/2026
Unauthenticated PHP Object Injection in Booking Activities <= 1.18.7.1 versions.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/30/2026
The vulnerability identified as an unauthenticated PHP object injection flaw within the Booking Activities plugin, specifically affecting versions up to and including 1.18.7.1, represents a critical security deficiency that allows attackers to execute arbitrary code on the target server without requiring valid credentials. This type of vulnerability stems from the improper handling of user-supplied input during the deserialization process in PHP applications. When an application accepts data from external sources such as HTTP requests and passes it directly into functions like unserialize() or similar mechanisms without adequate validation, sanitization, or integrity checks, it creates a pathway for malicious actors to inject crafted serialized objects. In the context of this plugin, the lack of authentication means that any anonymous user interacting with the application can trigger these deserialization routines, significantly lowering the barrier to entry for exploitation and increasing the potential attack surface considerably.
From a technical perspective, PHP object injection exploits rely on the existence of specific classes within the application's codebase or its dependencies that contain magic methods such as __wakeup(), __destruct(), or __toString(). These methods are automatically invoked when an object is deserialized. If these methods interact with system resources, execute commands, or perform file operations based on properties set during serialization, an attacker can manipulate those properties to achieve unintended outcomes. By crafting a serialized payload that instantiates one of these vulnerable classes and sets their internal state to malicious values, the attacker forces the application to execute arbitrary PHP code upon deserialization. This often leads to remote code execution (RCE), which is considered one of the most severe consequences in web application security because it grants the attacker full control over the underlying server environment running the PHP interpreter.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is profound, as successful exploitation can lead to complete compromise of the affected system. An attacker could use this flaw to upload and execute malicious scripts, exfiltrate sensitive database contents including user credentials and personal information, deface the website, or establish persistent backdoors for future access. Furthermore, because the plugin handles booking activities, it likely processes significant amounts of customer data; therefore, a breach resulting from this vulnerability may also trigger regulatory compliance issues under frameworks such as GDPR or CCPA due to the potential exposure of personally identifiable information. The unauthenticated nature of the flaw means that automated scanning tools and opportunistic attackers can easily discover and exploit this weakness across thousands of vulnerable installations without needing to perform complex reconnaissance or credential stuffing attacks, leading to widespread compromise in environments where the plugin is deployed but not promptly updated.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-502, which describes Deserialization of Untrusted Data, a category of flaws recognized by industry standards as high-risk due to their potential for remote code execution. Additionally, from an offensive security perspective, this exploitation technique maps closely to MITRE ATT&CK techniques related to Command and Scripting Interpreter abuse or Object Injection, where adversaries leverage application logic to execute commands within the host environment. The absence of authentication requirements places it in a particularly dangerous category often associated with widespread automated attacks seen in recent years targeting popular WordPress plugins.
To mitigate this risk, immediate action is required by administrators running affected versions of the Booking Activities plugin. The primary and most effective remediation step is to upgrade the plugin to version 1.18.7.2 or later, where the developers have presumably addressed the deserialization logic flaws by implementing strict input validation, whitelisting allowed classes for deserialization, or replacing unsafe serialization functions with safer alternatives like JSON encoding/decoding which do not support arbitrary object instantiation. In cases where immediate patching is not feasible due to compatibility constraints, temporary mitigations should include restricting access to any endpoints that trigger the vulnerable functionality via Web Application Firewall rules if available, and ensuring that PHP error reporting does not expose stack traces or class names that could aid attackers in crafting effective payloads. Regular security audits and adherence to secure coding practices that prioritize input validation over trust are essential for preventing similar vulnerabilities in future development cycles.