Description

Improper Validation of Specified Quantity in Input vulnerability in Silk Themes Newspapers X allows Malicious Software Implanted. This issue affects Newspapers X: from 1.0.46 through 1.0.48.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "10.0",
  "pubDate": "2026-08-31T21:17:51.903Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-08-31T21:17:51.903Z",
  "executiveSummary": "A critical input validation vulnerability has been identified in the Silk Themes Newspapers X theme, specifically affecting versions from 1.0.46 through 1.0.48. Classified as an Improper Validation of Specified Quantity in Input, this security flaw represents a severe risk to web server integrity. The vulnerability stems from the application's failure to properly validate, restrict, or sanitize input parameters that dictate quantitative values. As a direct consequence, remote threat actors can exploit this weakness to bypass standard security controls and implant malicious software onto the host server. Successful exploitation grants attackers the capability to run unauthorized code, establish persistent backdoors, compromise databases, and potentially achieve complete control of the affected web server. To mitigate the risk of active exploitation, security administrators using the affected versions of the Newspapers X theme must immediately assess their installations, apply security hardening measures, and seek remediation options from the vendor.",
  "technicalDetails": "The underlying vulnerability in Silk Themes Newspapers X (versions 1.0.46 through 1.0.48) is classified under the improper validation of a specified quantity in input. This occurs when an application processes a user-supplied numeric value representing a size, count, boundary, or memory allocation limit without verifying that the value falls within safe operational thresholds. When a software component fails to restrict these quantitative parameters, it introduces significant logic flaws and memory management risks.\nDuring exploitation, an attacker targets endpoints in the Newspapers X theme that accept numeric arguments or quantity parameters, such as those associated with file processing, chunked data uploads, or dynamic array allocations. By sending a crafted HTTP request containing an manipulated quantity parameter—such as an extremely large integer, a negative value, or an unexpected boundary condition—the attacker forces the application into an unstable state. If the application utilizes this unvalidated quantity to allocate dynamic memory or control loop iterations, the mismatch between the specified quantity and actual data size can trigger heap or stack-based buffer overflows, integer overflows, or array index out-of-bounds errors.\nThis behavior can be leveraged to write data beyond designated memory boundaries or file-system paths. In a web application context, this allows the attacker to execute arbitrary file-write operations. By manipulating the quantitative boundaries of a file-handling routine, the attacker can bypass security restrictions and write malicious software, such as PHP web shells, directly into web-accessible directories. Once the malicious payload is successfully written and implanted on the server, the attacker can invoke the script via a standard HTTP request. This grants the attacker interactive shell access to execute arbitrary commands under the privileges of the web server process (e.g., www-data), facilitating full system compromise, data theft, and lateral movement within the hosting infrastructure."
}