# CVE-2022-2903: NinjaForms < 3.6.13 - Admin+ PHP Objection Injection

> An admin importing a malicious file can trigger PHP object injection, potentially leading to remote code execution on the WordPress site.

- **Severity:** High 7.2 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 26 Sep 2022
- **Updated:** 21 May 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-h596-wmq7-7vpq

## What is CVE-2022-2903?

CVE-2022-2903 is a high-severity unsafe deserialization vulnerability in Ninjaforms Ninja Forms, published on 26 Sep 2022. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Ninja Forms Contact Form WordPress plugin before 3.6.13 unserialises the content of an imported file, which could lead to PHP object injections issues when an admin import (intentionally or not) a malicious file and a suitable gadget chain is present on the blog.

Weakness: CWE-502 (Deserialization of Untrusted Data)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-2903?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Ninjaforms Ninja Forms.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-2903?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-2903 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-2903 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2022-2903 exists.

## Other vulnerabilities in Ninjaforms Ninja Forms

- [CVE-2025-9083](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-9083/): Ninja-forms < 3.11.1 - Unauthenticated PHP Objection (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-1209](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-1209/): Deserialization in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2018-20981](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-20981/): Information disclosure in n/a (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2024-25572](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-25572/): Cross-site request forgery in Ninja Forms (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2021-24163](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-24163/): Ninja Forms < 3.4.34 - Authenticated SendWP Plugin Installation and Client Secret Key Disclosure (high 8.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-2903 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-2903 is a high-severity unsafe deserialization vulnerability in Ninjaforms Ninja Forms, published on 26 Sep 2022. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2022-2903 exists.

Affected product: Ninjaforms Ninja Forms. 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-2022-2903/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-2903/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-2903
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-2903
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-2903

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-2903/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.