The vulnerability identified as CVE-2024-11465 affects the Custom Product Tabs for WooCommerce plugin for WordPress, specifically versions up to and including 1.8.5. It is a PHP Object Injection vulnerability resulting from unsafe deserialization of untrusted input in the 'yikes_woo_products_tabs' post meta parameter. Deserialization is the process of converting data from a stored format back into an object; if this data is untrusted and not properly validated, it can lead to injection of malicious PHP objects. In this case, authenticated users with Shop Manager-level access or higher can supply crafted serialized data to inject PHP objects. Although the plugin itself does not contain a known POP chain to facilitate exploitation, the presence of other plugins or themes that provide exploitable POP chains could allow attackers to perform destructive actions such as arbitrary file deletion, sensitive data disclosure, or remote code execution. The vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.2, reflecting high severity due to network attack vector, low attack complexity, required privileges, and no user interaction. The scope is unchanged, but the impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability is high. No patches are currently linked, and no known exploits have been observed in the wild. This vulnerability highlights the risks of unsafe deserialization in WordPress plugins, especially those that accept serialized data from authenticated users with elevated privileges.

If exploited, this vulnerability could allow attackers with Shop Manager or higher privileges to inject malicious PHP objects, potentially leading to remote code execution, arbitrary file deletion, or unauthorized data access. This compromises the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected WordPress site and its data. For e-commerce sites using WooCommerce, this could result in theft of customer data, disruption of sales operations, and damage to brand reputation. The requirement for authenticated access limits exposure somewhat, but Shop Manager roles are common in many organizations, increasing risk. The absence of a direct POP chain in the plugin reduces immediate exploitability, but the widespread use of additional plugins and themes in WordPress environments increases the likelihood of successful exploitation. Overall, the vulnerability poses a significant threat to organizations relying on this plugin for their online stores, especially those with complex plugin ecosystems.

1. Immediately update the Custom Product Tabs for WooCommerce plugin to a patched version once available. Monitor vendor announcements for patches. 2. Restrict Shop Manager and higher privileges to trusted personnel only, minimizing the number of users who can exploit this vulnerability. 3. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block suspicious serialized payloads targeting the 'yikes_woo_products_tabs' parameter. 4. Audit and minimize the number of installed plugins and themes to reduce the risk of POP chains that could facilitate exploitation. 5. Employ security plugins that detect unsafe deserialization attempts or anomalous post meta modifications. 6. Regularly back up WordPress sites and databases to enable recovery in case of compromise. 7. Conduct code reviews and penetration testing focusing on deserialization and object injection risks in custom or third-party plugins. 8. Monitor logs for unusual activity related to post meta updates or Shop Manager accounts. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on privilege management, WAF tuning, and ecosystem hardening specific to this vulnerability.