Description

Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in Axiomthemes Balance balance allows Object Injection.This issue affects Balance: from n/a through 1.12.0.

Executive Summary

Technical Details

Mitigations

References

Additional Metadata

{
  "score": "9.8",
  "pubDate": "2026-10-10T08:17:07.057Z",
  "pubdate": "2026-10-10T08:17:07.057Z",
  "executiveSummary": "The Axiomthemes Balance theme, covering versions n/a through 1.12.0, is susceptible to a Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability. This flaw facilitates Object Injection, a critical security weakness that allows an attacker to manipulate serialized objects processed by the application.\nBy injecting malicious serialized data, an unauthorized actor can achieve arbitrary code execution, privilege escalation, or unauthorized access to sensitive application data. The vulnerability resides within the theme's handling of user-supplied input that is passed to PHP's deserialization functions without adequate validation or sanitization.\nThis poses a severe risk to the integrity and confidentiality of the WordPress installation utilizing this theme. Successful exploitation typically requires the attacker to identify an entry point where serialized data is accepted and provided to the theme's backend processing logic.\nGiven the nature of Object Injection, the attacker may be able to manipulate application state or instantiate arbitrary classes available within the environment, potentially leading to a full system compromise depending on the classes included in the application scope (gadget chains). Users of the affected versions are at significant risk and should consider the theme currently insecure until a vendor-supplied patch is applied.",
  "technicalDetails": "The vulnerability originates from the insecure implementation of deserialization routines within the Balance theme. In PHP, the unserialize() function is used to convert a stored string representation back into a native PHP object. When the input to this function is sourced from untrusted user input without strict verification, it allows for PHP Object Injection.\nThe attack flow begins when an attacker identifies a parameter or data field that is eventually passed to an unserialize() call within the theme's execution context. By crafting a specifically formatted serialized payload, an attacker can define the properties of the objects being reconstructed. This allows the attacker to manipulate the internal state of the application or, more critically, leverage existing classes within the application or its dependencies to create a 'gadget chain'.\nA gadget chain consists of a sequence of existing code components (methods or magic methods like __wakeup, __destruct, or __toString) that, when chained together through the injected object's properties, lead to an unintended and malicious execution path. Once the unserialization occurs, the PHP engine instantiates the object and automatically invokes these magic methods. If these methods perform operations such as file system access, database queries, or system command execution, the attacker gains the ability to execute code with the permissions of the web server process.\nThe impact is significant because the attacker can execute arbitrary code on the server, potentially leading to unauthorized data exfiltration, modification of application logic, or complete site defacement. The lack of validation on the serialized input ensures that any user capable of reaching the vulnerable endpoint can trigger the payload. Since deserialization occurs at the application level, the security of the underlying infrastructure cannot prevent the exploitation of logic flaws within the theme itself. The scope of the vulnerability includes versions from n/a up to and including 1.12.0, meaning any site running this range is potentially vulnerable to remote code execution if a reachable injection point is identified. Attackers do not necessarily need high-level privileges to initiate the request, as the vulnerability resides in the way the input is parsed, which may be exposed via standard web interfaces or plugin-specific functionalities."
}