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CVE Record

CVE-2022-2437: Feed Them Social – for Twitter feed, Youtube and more <= 2.9.8.5 - Unauthenticated PHAR Deserialization

The Feed Them Social – for Twitter feed, Youtube and more plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to deserialization of untrusted input via the 'fts_url' parameter in versions up to, and including 2.9.8.5. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to call files using a PHAR wrapper that will deserialize the data 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.

CriticalCVSS 9.8Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysiscritical

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

CVE-2022-2437 affects the WordPress Feed Them Social plugin through version 2.9.8.5. An unauthenticated attacker may trigger unsafe PHP object deserialization through the fts_url parameter if they can also place a malicious serialized file where the site can read it. Successful exploitation could affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

Executive priority

Treat as urgent for affected public WordPress sites because the issue is unauthenticated, critical severity, and can lead to full site compromise when prerequisites are met. Prioritize inventory, update, and exposure reduction before routine backlog work.

Technical view

The issue is CWE-502 deserialization of untrusted input. The fts_url parameter can call files through a PHAR wrapper, causing PHP metadata deserialization. The published CVSS 3.1 score is 9.8. Impact depends on a usable POP chain and successful attacker upload or placement of a serialized payload file.

Likely exposure

Internet-facing WordPress sites using Feed Them Social versions up to and including 2.9.8.5 are the relevant exposure. Risk is higher where unauthenticated users can upload files, abused upload paths exist, or another weakness lets attackers place readable files on the server.

Exploitation context

The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. The vulnerability is network-reachable and unauthenticated, but practical exploitation requires a serialized payload file and a suitable PHP object chain in the environment.

Researcher notes

Focus validation on the exact plugin version, reachable fts_url handling, upload or file-placement paths, and available POP chains. Do not assume exploitability without confirming the payload placement prerequisite and environment-specific object chain conditions.

Mitigation direction

  • Upgrade Feed Them Social to a version newer than 2.9.8.5 following vendor guidance.
  • Remove or disable the plugin where it is not business-critical.
  • Restrict unauthenticated file upload capabilities across the WordPress site.
  • Review vendor and Wordfence advisories for current remediation guidance.
  • Use a WAF or WordPress security control to reduce suspicious fts_url requests.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory WordPress sites for the Feed Them Social plugin and installed version.
  • Confirm every installation is removed, disabled, or above version 2.9.8.5.
  • Review web logs for suspicious fts_url requests and PHAR wrapper references.
  • Audit upload locations for unexpected files readable by the web server.
  • Check whether other plugins or themes provide relevant PHP object chains.
Prepared
Confidence
high
Sources
5

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cwe · medium confidence lookup

CWE-502: Code execution behavior lookup

Code execution and unsafe deserialization weaknesses often justify reviewing execution behavior and process telemetry. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.

Open ATT&CK lookup
cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2022-2437 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Critical
CVSS
9.8 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
4Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
9.8CVSS 3.1CriticalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H3.95.9Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

9.8Critical
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2022-2437Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
slickremixFeed Them Social – Social Media Feeds, Video, and Photo Galleries0unaffected
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-502

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.

CWE-502 · source CWE mapping

Deserialization of Untrusted Data

Deserialization of Untrusted Data represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.

Open CWE intelligenceSame-CWE CVEs