CVE-2024-29800 is a high-severity (CVSS 8) Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in timber/timber. A fix is available for timber/timber — see the affected versions and patch details below.
timber/timber vulnerable to Deserialization of Untrusted Data
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2024-29800.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2024-29800 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,567 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
timber/timber🐘timber/timber🐘timber/timberReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Packagist packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Summary
Timber is vulnerable to PHAR deserialization due to a lack of checking the input before passing it into the file_exists() function. If an attacker can upload files of any type to the server, he can pass in the phar:// protocol to unserialize the uploaded file and instantiate arbitrary PHP objects. This can lead to remote code execution especially when Timber is used with frameworks with documented POP chains like Wordpress/ vulnerable developer code.
Details
The vulnerability lies in the run function within the toJpg.php file. The two parameters passed into it are not checked or sanitized, hence an attacker could potentially inject malicious input leading to Deserialization of Untrusted Data, allowing for remote code execution:
PoC
Setup the following code in /var/www/html: vuln.php represents our use of Timber functions and phar-poc.php represents code with a vulnerable POP chain.
As an attacker, we generate our PHAR payload using the following exploit script:
Generate with:
then change extension file from .phar to valid extension as svg,jpg,...
and execute vuln.php with php vuln.php, you should see whoami being executed:
Impact
This vulnerability is capable of remote code execution if Timber is used with frameworks or developer code with vulnerable POP chains.
Recommended Fix
Filter the phar:// protocol.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | timber/timber | ≥ 2.0.0&&< 2.1.0 | 2.1.0composer require timber/timber:^2.1.0 |
| 🐘Packagist | timber/timber | ≥ 1.24.0&&< 1.24.1 | 1.24.1composer require timber/timber:^1.24.1 |
| 🐘Packagist | timber/timber | ≥ 0.16.6&&< 1.23.1 | 1.23.1composer require timber/timber:^1.23.1 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for timber/timber, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update timber/timber to 2.1.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2024-29800 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2024-29800 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2024-29800. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2024-29800 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2024-29800 across Packagist dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.