Executive Summary
The Smart Post Show – Post Grid, Post Carousel & Slider, and List Category Posts plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection in all versions up to, and including, 3.0.12 via deserialization of untrusted input in the import_shortcodes() function. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Administrator-level access and above, to inject a PHP Object. No known POP chain is present in the vulnerable software, which means this vulnerability has no impact unless another plugin or theme containing a POP chain is installed on the site. If a POP chain is present via an additional plugin or theme installed on the target system, it may allow the attacker to perform actions like delete arbitrary files, retrieve sensitive data, or execute code depending on the POP chain present.
Quantitative Risk Analysis
Attack Vector Profile
The payload vectors broken down by magnitude impact and ease-of-deployment factor mapping.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HWhat This Means For Your System
Each point below is derived directly from this CVE's CVSS v3.1 vector — not editorial opinion.
Exploitable remotely over the internet — no physical or local access needed.
No special preconditions — the attack is reliably repeatable.
Elevated or admin privileges are required.
No user interaction required — the attacker acts autonomously.
Successful exploitation causes: full data confidentiality breach, complete integrity compromise, total service availability loss.
OsVault Risk Score Methodology
The OsVault composite score is a 5-layer non-linear engine — not a simple weighted average. Each input signal is transformed through mathematically appropriate curves before blending, ensuring that exploitability context overrides raw severity when warranted.
Layer 1 (Technical): CVSS is mapped through a piecewise exponential curve with 4 bands (LOW 0–20, MEDIUM 20–55, HIGH 55–85, CRITICAL 85–100), then multiplied by full CVSS vector decomposition factors for Attack Vector, Complexity, Privileges, and User Interaction.
Layer 2 (Threat): Raw EPSS is passed through a logistic sigmoid (k=40, midpoint=0.05) to maximize discrimination in the decision-relevant range. The result is added to an exploit maturity tier base score (Weaponized: 85, Functional: 55, PoC: 40, Unproven: 18).
Layer 3 (KEV Floor):Any CVE in CISA's catalog receives a hard minimum of 93.0 (Functional) or 97.0 (Weaponized). This ensures confirmed exploitation is never buried by low CVSS scores.
Scores ≥70: patch immediately. 40–69: schedule within current sprint. Below 40: standard maintenance cycle.