CVE-2019-11458: Cakephp/cakephp Unsafe Deserialization Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-qhrx-hcm6-pmrw
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-502
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2019-11458 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) unsafe deserialization vulnerability (CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data) affecting Cakephp/cakephp libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves unsafe deserialization in smtptransport in cakephp. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.5.18, 3.6.15, 3.7.7.

CVE-2019-11458 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2019-11458
GHSA Identifier GHSA-qhrx-hcm6-pmrw
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data
Affected Product Cakephp/cakephp
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2019-11458

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Cakephp/cakephp dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

cakephp/cakephp fixed: 3.5.18 
Upgrade cakephp/cakephp to 3.5.18
cakephp/cakephp fixed: 3.6.15 
Upgrade cakephp/cakephp to 3.6.15
cakephp/cakephp fixed: 3.7.7 
Upgrade cakephp/cakephp to 3.7.7
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for cakephp/cakephp

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2019-11458, inspect your project dependencies for Cakephp/cakephp:

inspect dependencies for cakephp/cakephp

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Cakephp/cakephp in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.5.18), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data, where the product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently ensuring that the resulting data will be valid. In Cakephp/cakephp, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

An issue was discovered in SmtpTransport in CakePHP 3.7.6. An unserialized object with modified internal properties can trigger arbitrary file overwriting upon destruction.

CVE-2019-11458 Affected Cakephp/cakephp Versions

3 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.5.183.6.153.7.7
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
cakephp/cakephp
 Packagist
≥ 3.0.0
< 3.5.18
3.5.18
cakephp/cakephp
 Packagist
≥ 3.6.0
< 3.6.15
3.6.15
cakephp/cakephp
 Packagist
≥ 3.7.0
< 3.7.7
3.7.7

References

NVD — CVE-2019-11458 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-11458
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/cakephp/cakephp/commit/1a74e798309192a9895c9cedabd714ceee345f4e
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/cakephp/cakephp/commit/81412fbe2cb88a304dbeeece1955bc0aec98edb1
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/cakephp/cakephp/commit/c25b91bf7c72db43c01b47a634fd02112ff9f1cd
bakery.cakephp.org/2019/04/23/cakephp_... WEB
https://bakery.cakephp.org/2019/04/23/cakephp_377_3615_3518_released.html
Cakephp/cakephp Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/FriendsOfPHP/security-advisories/blob/master/cakephp/cakephp/CVE-2019-11458.yaml
Cakephp/cakephp Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/cakephp/cakephp
Cakephp/cakephp Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/cakephp/cakephp/commits/master
Cakephp/cakephp Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/cakephp/cakephp/compare/3.7.6...3.7.7
Cakephp/cakephp Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/cakephp/cakephp/releases

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2019-11458?
CVE-2019-11458 is a security vulnerability in Cakephp/cakephp involving Unsafe deserialization in SmtpTransport in CakePHP under CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data.
Which Cakephp/cakephp versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.5.18, 3.6.15, 3.7.7 across affected packages: cakephp/cakephp.
What version fixes CVE-2019-11458?
Upgrading to 3.5.18, 3.6.15, 3.7.7 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is cakephp/cakephp affected?
Yes, cakephp/cakephp is affected in releases prior to 3.5.18, 3.6.15, 3.7.7. Upgrade your dependency to 3.5.18, 3.6.15, 3.7.7 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2019-11458?
CVE-2019-11458 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2019-11458?
CVE-2019-11458 is classified under CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data (The product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently ensuring that the resulting data will be valid.).
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2019-11458?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for cakephp/cakephp'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-qhrx-hcm6-pmrw",
  "modified" : "2025-05-29T22:52:21Z",
  "published" : "2019-12-02T18:12:26Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2019-11458" ],
  "summary" : "Unsafe deserialization in SmtpTransport in CakePHP",
  "details" : "An issue was discovered in SmtpTransport in CakePHP 3.7.6. An unserialized object with modified internal properties can trigger arbitrary file overwriting upon destruction.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "cakephp/cakephp"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.5.18"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "cakephp/cakephp"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.6.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.6.15"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "cakephp/cakephp"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.7.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.7.7"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-11458"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/cakephp/cakephp/commit/1a74e798309192a9895c9cedabd714ceee345f4e"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/cakephp/cakephp/commit/81412fbe2cb88a304dbeeece1955bc0aec98edb1"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/cakephp/cakephp/commit/c25b91bf7c72db43c01b47a634fd02112ff9f1cd"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bakery.cakephp.org/2019/04/23/cakephp_377_3615_3518_released.html"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/FriendsOfPHP/security-advisories/blob/master/cakephp/cakephp/CVE-2019-11458.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/cakephp/cakephp"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/cakephp/cakephp/commits/master"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/cakephp/cakephp/compare/3.7.6...3.7.7"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/cakephp/cakephp/releases"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-502" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2019-12-02T00:51:02Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2019-05-08T18:29:00Z"
  }
}