#VU16334 Object injection attack in PHPMailer - CVE-2018-19296

Vulnerability identifier: #VU16334

Vulnerability risk: High

CVSSv4.0: 8.1 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Amber]

CVE-ID: CVE-2018-19296

CWE-ID: CWE-20

Exploitation vector: Network

Exploit availability: No

Vulnerable software:
PHPMailer
Web applications / Other software

Vendor: phpmailer.sourceforge.net

Description

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the target system.

The vulnerability exists due to object injection attack. A remote unauthenticated attacker can send a specially crafted request, conduct object injection attack and execute arbitrary code with elevated privileges.

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability may result in complete compromise of vulnerable system.

Mitigation
The vulnerability has been fixed in the versions 5.2.27, 6.0.6.

Vulnerable software versions

PHPMailer: 5.2.1 - 6.0.5

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External links
https://github.com/PHPMailer/PHPMailer/releases/tag/v5.2.27
https://github.com/PHPMailer/PHPMailer/releases/tag/v6.0.6

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Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

Yes. This vulnerability can be exploited by a remote non-authenticated attacker via the Internet.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.