Theme Editor <= 2.8 — Authenticated (Admin+) PHAR Deserialization
CVE-2022-2440Published · Updated Action summary
Affected: ≤2.8Update to 2.9 or newer
All remediation steps- Severity
- High7.2
- CVSS
- 7.2CVSS 3.1 · CNA (Wordfence)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HWhat does this vector mean?
AV:NAttack vector- Network
AC:LAttack complexity- Low
PR:HPrivileges required- High
UI:NUser interaction- None
S:UScope- Unchanged
C:HConfidentiality- High
I:HIntegrity- High
A:HAvailability- High
- Weakness
- CWE-502 PHP Object Injection
- Required access
- Unknown
- Exploit prediction (EPSS)
- No score
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
On this page8
Am I affected?
Theme Editor theme-editor
- Affected≤ 2.8
- Patched in2.9
Update to 2.9 or newer.
You are affected if you run ≤ 2.8. Version 2.9 and later are not affected by this issue.
- Check your version: in wp-admin go to Plugins → Installed Plugins and read the version under Theme Editor.
- No admin access? Run a passive check of your site. It reads public files only.
What to do
- Update to version 2.9, or a newer patched version
- Rotate administrator passwords and application secrets if the site ran a vulnerable version while publicly reachable.
- Watch Theme Editor to get an email when the next vulnerability is published.
Advisory
Source description from Wordfence Intelligence, credited to Rasoul Jahanshahi.
The Theme Editor plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to deserialization of untrusted input via the 'images_array' parameter in versions up to, and including 2.8. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with administrative privileges to call files using a PHAR wrapper that will deserialize and call arbitrary PHP Objects that can be used to perform a variety of malicious actions granted a POP chain is also present. It also requires that the attacker is successful in uploading a file with the serialized payload.
Exploits & references
Proof-of-concept & detection
No public proof-of-concept or detection template is known for this vulnerability.
Advisories & patches
- Advisorywordfence.com
Related CVEs
More in Theme Editor
All 7| Severity | Vulnerability | CVE | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium4.3 | Cross-Site Request Forgery to CSS Modification ≤3.1Update to 3.2 | CVE-2025-14469 | |
| Medium4.3 | Cross-Site Request Forgery ≤3.2No patch available | CVE-2026-39640 | |
| High8.8 | Cross-Site Request Forgery to Remote Code Execution ≤3.0Update to 3.1 | CVE-2025-9890 | |
| High7.2 | Authenticated (Administrator+) Arbitrary File Upload ≤2.7.1Update to 2.8 | CVE-2023-6091 | |
| Medium4.9 | Authenticated Arbitrary File Download ≤2.5Update to 2.6 | CVE-2021-24154 |
- Medium4.3Cross-Site Request Forgery to CSS Modification
≤3.1Update to 3.2
- Medium4.3Cross-Site Request Forgery
≤3.2No patch available
- High8.8Cross-Site Request Forgery to Remote Code Execution
≤3.0Update to 3.1
- High7.2Authenticated (Administrator+) Arbitrary File Upload
≤2.7.1Update to 2.8
- Medium4.9Authenticated Arbitrary File Download
≤2.5Update to 2.6
Same weakness (PHP Object Injection)
All PHP Object Injection| Severity | Vulnerability | CVE | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| High7.2 | Unauthenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Comment User-Agent Header | CVE-2026-120688 | |
| Critical9.8 | Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Upload via File Upload via Public Form Submission | CVE-2026-125055 | |
| Critical9.8 | Unauthenticated PHP Object Injection to Remote Code Execution via 'form' Parameter | CVE-2026-119077 | |
| Medium5.3 | Unauthenticated Sensitive Information Exposure in 'search' Parameter | CVE-2026-121518 |
- High7.2Unauthenticated Stored Cross-Site Scripting via Comment User-Agent Header
EZ SQL Reports Shortcode Widget and DB Backup
≤5.25.25Update to 5.26.45
- Critical9.8Unauthenticated Arbitrary File Upload via File Upload via Public Form Submission
Chatterbug Forms – Fast, Flexible WordPress Form Builder
≤1.0.2Update to 1.1
- Critical9.8Unauthenticated PHP Object Injection to Remote Code Execution via 'form' Parameter
ELEX WordPress HelpDesk & Customer Ticketing System
≤3.3.9Update to 3.4.0
- Medium5.3Unauthenticated Sensitive Information Exposure in 'search' Parameter
Customer Reviews for WooCommerce
≤5.127.0Update to 5.128.0
Timeline
CVE published
Severity high, CVSS 7.2
Record last updated
Sources & licenses
Wordfence record- Vulnerability data
- Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. Licensed under the CC BY-SA 4.0.
- CVE® identifiers
- Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. Used under the CVE Program. CVE® is a registered trademark of The MITRE Corporation.
- CVSS / CWE
- National Vulnerability Database (NVD), shown unmodified. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
- VulnCrest content
- Summary, remediation guidance and page layout © VulnCrest. Not sourced from NVD.