CVE-2020-4043 json
Phar unserialization vulnerability in phpMussel
published 2020-06-10 6 y ago modified 2026-07-08 4 mo ago also GHSA-qr95-4mq5-r3fh , EUVD-2020-0510
- cvss
- 7.7
- version 3.1, CNA
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- 2.6%
- EPSS 2.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 85%
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
Summary
phpMussel from versions 1.0.0 and less than 1.6.0 has an unserialization vulnerability in PHP's phar wrapper. Uploading a specially crafted file to an affected version allows arbitrary code execution (discovered, tested, and confirmed by myself), so the risk factor should be regarded as very high. Newer phpMussel versions don't use PHP's phar wrapper, and are therefore unaffected. This has been fixed in version 1.6.0.
Patch / fix
- packagist phpmussel/phpmussel 1.6.0
- packagist maikuolan/phpmussel 1.6.0
- phpmussel_project phpmussel 1.6.0
- github.com/phpMussel/phpMussel@97f2597 commit
- github.com/phpMussel/phpMussel#173 pull request
- github.com/phpMussel/phpMussel/issues/167 advisory
Exploit prediction
2.60% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 85% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).
CVSS scores
| assigned by | version | score | vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | 3.1 | 7.7 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N |
| NVD | 3.1 | 9.8 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| NVD | 2.0 | 7.5 | AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P |
| GitHub | 3.1 | 7.7 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N |
Affected packages
| ecosystem | package | affected | fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| packagist | phpmussel/phpmussel | >=1.0.0, <1.6.0 |
1.6.0 |
| packagist | maikuolan/phpmussel | >=1.0.0, <1.6.0 |
1.6.0 |
Affected products
- phpMussel phpMussel
Classification
- Weakness
-
- CWE-502 Deserialization of Untrusted Data
References
-
github.com
/phpMussel/phpMussel/pull/173
web, patch, third-party-advisory
-
github.com
/phpMussel/phpMussel/commit/97f25973433921c1f953430f32d3081adc4851a4
web, patch, release-notes, third-party-advisory
-
github.com
/phpMussel/phpMussel/issues/167
web, patch, third-party-advisory
-
github.com
/phpMussel/phpMussel/security/advisories/GHSA-qr95-4mq5-r3fh
web, mitigation, third-party-advisory
-
github.com
/phpMussel/phpMussel/security/policy#currently-known-vulnerabilities
web, third-party-advisory
-
nvd.nist.gov
/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-4043
advisory
-
github.com
/phpMussel/phpMussel
package
Sources
- CVE List CVE-2020-4043
- GitHub Advisory GHSA-qr95-4mq5-r3fh
- NVD CVE-2020-4043
Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.