CVE-2025-28961
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 · uneditedDeserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in Md Yeasin Ul Haider URL Shortener exact-links allows Object Injection.This issue affects URL Shortener: from n/a through <= 3.0.7.
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 · moderate confidenceA deserialization of untrusted data vulnerability in the URL Shortener exact-links PHP application allows remote attackers to inject malicious PHP objects by supplying crafted serialized data. This object injection can lead to arbitrary code execution, file inclusion, or database manipulation depending on available magic methods in the application context.
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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if exact-links URL Shortener is installedLocate the application files and confirm the product name matches 'exact-links' or a URL shortener application. Check for files like index.php, admin.php, or config files in the web directory.Affected if The application directory contains URL Shortener exact-links code.
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Find PHP deserialization usageSearch the application source code for calls to PHP's unserialize() function. Use grep or similar: grep -r "unserialize" /path/to/application/Affected if Code contains unserialize() calls that process data.
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Check if deserialized data comes from user inputTrace the data flow from HTTP request sources ( $_GET, $_POST, $_COOKIE, $_REQUEST) to the unserialize() call. Review the PHP files identified in step 2.Affected if User-supplied input from HTTP requests is passed directly to unserialize().
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Identify if input validation exists on serialized dataReview the code between user input and unserialize() calls. Look for sanitization functions, allowlists, type checks, or validation logic that inspects the serialized object before deserialization.Affected if No validation, sanitization, or allowlist filtering is performed on the data before unserialize() is called.
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Determine if vulnerable code path is accessibleVerify if the deserialization occurs on code paths accessible to unauthenticated users (public-facing endpoints) or only to authenticated administrators.Affected if The vulnerable unserialize() call is reachable by unauthenticated or low-privilege users.
A user is affected if the URL Shortener exact-links application uses unserialize() on unvalidated user-supplied data in an accessible code path.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpgrade to a patched version if available; otherwise, replace unsafe unserialize() calls with JSON-based serialization and implement input validation whitelisting. If patching is not possible, restrict network access to the application endpoint.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-28961 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-28961 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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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