Unauthenticated code execution via unsafe object deserialization
Published Oct 18, 2022 · Updated May 13, 2025
Unsafe deserialization in PHPok 6.1 allows remote attackers to write a PHP web shell through a crafted call API request. The _format_ext_all path passes attacker-controlled, doubly URL-decoded data to unserialize(), while a weak alias comparison permits the route. No authentication is required, and successful exploitation writes attacker-controlled PHP into the cache directory for server-side execution.
Summary
What happened
Unsafe deserialization in PHPok 6.1 allows remote attackers to write a PHP web shell through a crafted call API request. The _format_ext_all path passes attacker-controlled, doubly URL-decoded data to unserialize(), while a weak alias comparison permits the route. No authentication is required, and successful exploitation writes attacker-controlled PHP into the cache directory for server-side execution.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-40889
- Published
- Oct 18, 2022
- Updated
- May 13, 2025
- Vendor
- Unknown vendor
- Product
- Unknown product
- Classifications
- CWE-502, T1190
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 18, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 13, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- PHPok 6.1 deserialization web-shell proof of conceptfunctional · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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