CVE-2013-1453 Deserialization in n/a
Unauthenticated attackers can exploit unsafe deserialization in the Joomla highlight plugin to read data, delete directories, or execute SQL injection.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2013-1453?
CVE-2013-1453 is a high-severity unsafe deserialization vulnerability in Joomla Joomla\!, published on 13 Feb 2013. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
plugins/system/highlight/highlight.php in Joomla! 3.0.x through 3.0.2 and 2.5.x through 2.5.8 allows attackers to unserialize arbitrary PHP objects to obtain sensitive information, delete arbitrary directories, conduct SQL injection attacks, and possibly have other impacts via the highlight parameter. Note: it was originally reported that this issue only allowed attackers to obtain sensitive information, but later analysis demonstrated that other attacks exist.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2013-1453?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Joomla Joomla\!.
How do I fix CVE-2013-1453?
No fix has been published for CVE-2013-1453 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, and only deserialise data from trusted sources or with an allow-list of types. More about Unsafe deserialization.
Is CVE-2013-1453 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2013-1453 exists.
Public exploit code: 1 Exploit-DB entry.
Other vulnerabilities in Joomla Joomla\!
- CVE-2016-10033 PHPMailer Command Injection
- CVE-2023-23752 Joomla! Improper Access Control
- CVE-2026-48902 Joomla! Core - [20260518] - Transport encryption downgrade for password and username reset links
- CVE-2025-25226 [20250401] - Joomla Framework - SQL injection vulnerability in quoteNameStr method of Database package
- CVE-2022-23795 [20220303] - Core - User row are not bound to a authentication mechanism
Sources
Also known as GHSA-397m-73pj-3xm8.