Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Network-reachable unauthenticated object-injection per the disclosed vector; if a gadget chain enables RCE, C/I/A are all High, matching the reported 9.8.
Primary rating from Vendor (Patchstack).
CVSS VectorVendor: Patchstack
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in wpWax Directorist directorist allows Object Injection.This issue affects Directorist: from n/a through <= 8.8.2.
AnalysisAI
PHP Object Injection in the wpWax Directorist WordPress plugin (all versions through 8.8.2) lets remote attackers pass untrusted serialized data into a PHP deserialization sink, instantiating arbitrary objects that can trigger POP gadget chains for code execution, data theft, or site compromise. The flaw carries a critical 9.8 CVSS score with an unauthenticated network vector; it was disclosed by Patchstack. There is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and it is not listed in CISA KEV.
Technical ContextAI
Directorist is a WordPress business-directory and classified-listings plugin (CPE cpe:2.3:a:wpwax:directorist) built on PHP. The root cause is CWE-502, Deserialization of Untrusted Data: the plugin passes attacker-influenced input to PHP's unserialize() (or equivalent), allowing an attacker to control the type and properties of instantiated PHP objects. This is classic PHP Object Injection - the vulnerability itself does not run code, but when a suitable 'POP' (Property-Oriented Programming) gadget chain exists in the plugin, WordPress core, or another loaded plugin, the crafted object graph can be steered through magic methods (__wakeup, __destruct, __toString) into file writes, SQL operations, or arbitrary code execution.
RemediationAI
No specific vendor-released fix version is included in the provided data; because the flaw affects versions through <= 8.8.2, administrators should upgrade Directorist to the next release above 8.8.2 as soon as the vendor publishes it and consult the Patchstack advisory (https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Plugin/directorist/vulnerability/wordpress-directorist-plugin-8-8-2-php-object-injection-vulnerability) for the exact patched version. As interim compensating controls, deploy a WordPress WAF or Patchstack virtual patch to block serialized-payload patterns targeting Directorist endpoints, restrict or disable the specific Directorist forms/AJAX actions that accept the unserialized input where feasible (accepting reduced directory functionality), and audit for other plugins that could supply POP gadget chains. If the vulnerable code path can be tied to a particular listing/import feature, temporarily disabling that feature reduces exposure at the cost of that functionality.
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Same weakness CWE-502 – Deserialization of Untrusted Data
View allSame technique Deserialization
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-43431