CVE-2023-2288Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Authenticated object injection via unsanitized fallback path

Published May 30, 2023 · Updated Jan 10, 2025

PHAR deserialization in Themeisle Otter Blocks before 2.2.6 allows remote authenticated users to inject objects via a crafted fallback path. The /wp-json/otter/v1/dynamic endpoint accepts fallback as a file path and passes phar:// input to file operations that deserialize archive metadata. Author access, an uploaded PHAR polyglot, PHP before 8.0, and a usable gadget chain are required; resulting actions depend on the available gadgets.

CVSS severity8.8
High
EPSS probability17.97%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

PHAR deserialization in Themeisle Otter Blocks before 2.2.6 allows remote authenticated users to inject objects via a crafted fallback path. The /wp-json/otter/v1/dynamic endpoint accepts fallback as a file path and passes phar:// input to file operations that deserialize archive metadata. Author access, an uploaded PHAR polyglot, PHP before 8.0, and a usable gadget chain are required; resulting actions depend on the available gadgets.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-2288
Published
May 30, 2023
Updated
Jan 10, 2025
Vendor
Themeisle
Product
Otter Blocks
Classifications
CWE-502, CAPEC-586, T1190
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 30, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jan 10, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=0 <2.2.6

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Themeisle · Otter Blocksversion=0 <2.2.6

Published CVSS scores

8.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-502Deserialization of Untrusted Data
CAPEC-586Object Injection
T1190Exploit Public-Facing Application

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo