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Deserialization of Untrusted DataWeakness · CWE-502

CVE-2025-26999

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-03
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in Metagauss ProfileGrid profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities allows Object Injection.This issue affects ProfileGrid : from n/a through <= 5.9.4.3.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

This is a PHP Object Injection vulnerability in the ProfileGrid WordPress plugin caused by unsafe deserialization of untrusted data. Attackers can exploit this by passing malicious serialized PHP objects, potentially triggering magic methods to achieve remote code execution if suitable gadget chains exist in the application or installed plugins.

MitigationUpdate to the latest patched version of ProfileGrid. If no update is available, identify and remediate any unserialize() calls on user-supplied input by replacing with safer alternatives like json_decode.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify ProfileGrid plugin is installed
    Navigate to WordPress Admin > Plugins and confirm ProfileGrid is listed as an active plugin, or check the wp-content/plugins/profile-grid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities directory exists
    Affected if ProfileGrid plugin is installed and active
  2. Determine installed ProfileGrid version
    In WordPress Admin, go to Plugins > ProfileGrid > View Details, or inspect the main plugin file (e.g., profile-grid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities/profile-grid.php) and locate the 'Version' header in the plugin comments
    Affected if The installed version matches or precedes the vendor-published vulnerable version range
  3. Inspect plugin code for unsafe unserialize() calls
    Search the ProfileGrid plugin directory for pattern: grep -r "unserialize" wp-content/plugins/profile-grid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities/ and examine any calls that process $_GET, $_POST, $_REQUEST, or other user-supplied input without sanitization
    Affected if Code contains unserialize() invoked on data derived from user input without prior validation
  4. Identify data sources feeding unserialize()
    Review the unserialize() calls found and trace back the input variables (e.g., $_POST['pm_nonce'], $_REQUEST['item'], etc.) to determine if they accept data directly from unauthenticated users or only from admin-approved sources
    Affected if User-controlled data flows into the unserialize() function without validation or restriction
  5. Check for registered magic methods in plugin or other plugins
    Search the entire wp-content/plugins directory for PHP magic method definitions (__destruct, __wakeup, __toString, __invoke, __get) that could serve as gadget chain targets, particularly in commonly paired plugins
    Affected if Magic methods exist that could be chained with the unsafe unserialize() to achieve code execution

A user is affected if ProfileGrid is installed and the installed version contains unsafe unserialize() calls processing user-supplied input, especially when gadget chains are present in the environment.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update to the latest patched version of ProfileGrid. If no update is available, identify and remediate any unserialize() calls on user-supplied input by replacing with safer alternatives like json_decode.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-26999 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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