Date: 
Wednesday, Mar 8th, 2017
Advisory ID: 
BACKDROP-SA-CONTRIB-2017-003
Security risk: 
Critical
Vulnerability: 
Arbitrary PHP code execution
Versions affected: 
  • Services 1.x versions prior to 1.x-3.0.1-beta

Backdrop core is not affected. If you do not use the contributed Services module, there is nothing you need to do. 

Description: 

This module provides a standardized solution for building API's so that external clients can communicate with Backdrop.

The module accepts user submitted data in PHP's serialization format ("Content-Type: application/vnd.php.serialized") which can lead to arbitrary remote code execution.

This vulnerability is mitigated by the fact that an attacker must know your Service Endpoint's path, and your Service Endpoint must have "application/vnd.php.serialized" enabled as a request parser.

Solution: 

Install the latest version:

  • If you use the Services 1.x-3.x module for Backdrop 1.x, upgrade to Services 1.x-3.0.1-beta

Also see the Services project page.

Reported By: 
Fixed By: 
Coordinated By: 

Security email list

Backdrop maintains a security mailing list. Whenever a security release comes out, an email will be sent to everyone subscribed to that list, announcing the new release. Please follow the steps below to join the Security email list.

  1. Log in to backdropcms.org
  2. Edit your profile
  3. Switch to the "Subscriptions" tab
  4. Check the box labeled "Security updates"
  5. Save the form