# CVE-2013-3242: Deserialization in n/a

> Authenticated users can trigger PHP object injection via cookies in the Joomla remember plugin, causing denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:P/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 3 May 2013
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-pwhw-p972-gp85

## What is CVE-2013-3242?

CVE-2013-3242 is a medium-severity unsafe deserialization vulnerability in Joomla Joomla\!, published on 3 May 2013. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

plugins/system/remember/remember.php in Joomla! 2.5.x before 2.5.10 and 3.0.x before 3.0.4 does not properly handle an object obtained by unserializing a cookie, which allows remote authenticated users to conduct PHP object injection attacks and cause a denial of service via unspecified vectors.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2013-3242?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Joomla Joomla\!.

## How do I fix CVE-2013-3242?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2013-3242 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2013-3242 exists.

Public exploit code:

- Joomla! 3.0.3 - 'remember.php' PHP Object Injection (exploitdb)

## Other vulnerabilities in Joomla Joomla\!

- [CVE-2016-10033](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-10033/): PHPMailer Command Injection (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2023-23752](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-23752/): Joomla! Improper Access Control (medium 5.3, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-48902](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-48902/): Joomla! Core - [20260518] - Transport encryption downgrade for password and username reset links (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2025-25226](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-25226/): [20250401] - Joomla Framework - SQL injection vulnerability in quoteNameStr method of Database package (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2022-23795](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-23795/): [20220303] - Core - User row are not bound to a authentication mechanism (critical 9.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2013-3242 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2013-3242 is a medium-severity unsafe deserialization vulnerability in Joomla Joomla\!, published on 3 May 2013. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2013-3242 exists.

Affected product: Joomla Joomla\!. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-3242/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-3242/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2013-3242
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2013-3242
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2013-3242

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-3242/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.