CVE-2024-12312 is a deserialization vulnerability classified under CWE-502 affecting the Print Science Designer plugin for WordPress, versions up to and including 1.3.152. The vulnerability stems from the plugin's unsafe handling of the 'designer-saved-projects' cookie, which is deserialized without proper validation or sanitization. This allows unauthenticated attackers to inject crafted PHP objects into the application’s memory space. Although the plugin itself does not contain a known POP (Property Oriented Programming) gadget chain to facilitate exploitation, the presence of other plugins or themes with exploitable POP chains on the same WordPress instance can enable attackers to leverage this injection to perform malicious actions. Potential impacts include arbitrary file deletion, unauthorized access to sensitive data, and remote code execution, severely compromising the affected system. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable over the network without authentication or user interaction, with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.1 reflecting high severity. No patches or official fixes are currently linked, and no active exploitation has been reported. The vulnerability was publicly disclosed on December 12, 2024, by Wordfence. This issue highlights the risks of unsafe deserialization in PHP applications, especially in complex CMS environments where multiple plugins and themes may interact.

The impact of CVE-2024-12312 is significant for organizations running WordPress sites with the Print Science Designer plugin installed. Successful exploitation can lead to full compromise of the web server environment, including unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, deletion of critical files, and remote code execution. This can result in website defacement, data breaches, service disruption, and potential lateral movement within the victim's network. Given that exploitation requires no authentication or user interaction, attackers can target vulnerable sites en masse, increasing the risk of widespread compromise. Organizations relying on this plugin for critical business functions or customer-facing services face reputational damage, regulatory penalties, and operational downtime if exploited. The absence of a direct POP chain in the plugin means exploitation depends on the presence of other vulnerable components, but this is common in WordPress environments with multiple third-party plugins and themes, increasing the attack surface.

1. Immediate mitigation should include disabling or removing the Print Science Designer plugin until a patch is available. 2. Monitor and audit all installed plugins and themes for known POP chains or unsafe deserialization vulnerabilities to reduce the risk of chained exploitation. 3. Implement Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious cookie values or deserialization attempts targeting the 'designer-saved-projects' cookie. 4. Employ strict input validation and sanitization for all user-controllable data, especially cookies and serialized objects. 5. Restrict file system permissions to limit the impact of potential arbitrary file deletion or code execution. 6. Regularly update WordPress core, plugins, and themes to incorporate security patches promptly. 7. Conduct security assessments and penetration testing focusing on deserialization vulnerabilities and plugin interactions. 8. Monitor logs for unusual activity related to cookie manipulation or PHP object injection attempts. 9. Engage with the plugin vendor or community to track patch releases and coordinate timely updates.