The vulnerability identified as CVE-2026-22345 affects the A WP Life Image Gallery – Lightbox Gallery, Responsive Photo Gallery, Masonry Gallery WordPress plugin, specifically versions up to and including 1.6.0. The core issue is a deserialization of untrusted data vulnerability, which allows attackers to perform object injection attacks. Deserialization vulnerabilities occur when software deserializes data from untrusted sources without sufficient validation or sanitization, enabling attackers to inject malicious objects that can alter program flow or execute arbitrary code. In this case, the plugin improperly handles serialized input data, allowing crafted payloads to be deserialized and executed. This can lead to remote code execution, privilege escalation, or data manipulation on the affected WordPress site. The vulnerability does not require user authentication, making it exploitable by unauthenticated remote attackers. Although no public exploits have been reported yet, the widespread use of the plugin and the nature of the vulnerability make it a critical risk. The lack of a CVSS score indicates the need for an expert severity assessment, which here is considered high due to the potential for severe impact and ease of exploitation. No official patches or mitigation links are currently provided, emphasizing the need for immediate attention by site administrators.

If exploited, this vulnerability could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code on the affected WordPress site, leading to full site compromise. This includes unauthorized access to sensitive data, defacement, insertion of malicious content, or use of the site as a pivot point for further attacks within an organization's network. The integrity and availability of the website and its data could be severely impacted. Given WordPress's popularity, many organizations, including small businesses, media sites, and e-commerce platforms, could be affected. The lack of authentication requirement lowers the barrier for attackers, increasing the likelihood of exploitation. The potential for remote code execution makes this a critical threat to web infrastructure relying on the vulnerable plugin.

Organizations should immediately verify if they are using the A WP Life Image Gallery plugin version 1.6.0 or earlier and plan to upgrade to a patched version once available. In the absence of an official patch, administrators should consider disabling or uninstalling the plugin to eliminate the attack vector. Implementing Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with rules to detect and block malicious serialized payloads can provide temporary protection. Monitoring web server logs for unusual serialized data or suspicious POST requests targeting the plugin endpoints is recommended. Restricting access to plugin-related endpoints via IP whitelisting or authentication can reduce exposure. Regular backups and incident response plans should be in place to recover quickly if exploitation occurs. Developers should review and refactor the plugin code to safely handle serialization and deserialization, employing allowlists and input validation.