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Deserialization of Untrusted DataWeakness · CWE-502

CVE-2025-4803

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-21
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
78/100
Remediation priority · High
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
The Glossary by WPPedia – Best Glossary plugin for WordPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection in all versions up to, and including, 1.3.0 via deserialization of untrusted input from the 'posttypes' parameter. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Administrator-level access and above, to inject a PHP Object. No known POP chain is present in the vulnerable software, which means this vulnerability has no impact unless another plugin or theme containing a POP chain is installed on the site. If a POP chain is present via an additional plugin or theme installed on the target system, it may allow the attacker to perform actions like delete arbitrary files, retrieve sensitive data, or execute code depending on the POP chain present.

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

The Glossary by WPPedia WordPress plugin (versions up to 1.3.0) is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection through unsafe deserialization of the 'posttypes' parameter. Authenticated attackers with Administrator-level permissions can inject arbitrary PHP objects. While the plugin itself contains no POP chain, the vulnerability becomes exploitable when combined with other plugins or themes that contain a POP chain, potentially allowing file deletion, data retrieval, or code execution.

MitigationUpdate the plugin to a patched version once available, or implement input validation/sanitization on the 'posttypes' parameter to prevent deserialization of untrusted data. Since admin-level access is required, ensure strong credential policies and consider limiting admin user accounts.

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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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 Glossary by WPPedia plugin is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Glossary by WPPedia' in the list of active plugins
    Affected if The plugin appears in the installed plugins list
  2. Check installed plugin version
    Click on the plugin name in the Plugins list to view its details, or inspect the plugin header in wp-content/plugins/glossary-wppedia/main.php for the Version: x.x.x field
    Affected if Version is 1.3.0 or lower (the affected range is up to and including 1.3.0)
  3. Confirm plugin is active
    In Plugins > Instored Plugins, verify the 'Glossary by WPPedia' plugin has the 'Active' status beneath it
    Affected if Plugin is currently active (inactive plugins would not expose the vulnerability)
  4. Identify Administrator-level users
    In WordPress admin, go to Users > All Users and check for any users with the Administrator role
    Affected if Administrator-level user accounts exist (exploitation requires admin-level permissions per the CVE)
  5. Check for potential POP chain sources
    Review other installed plugins and themes for known PHP Object Injection vulnerabilities or unserialize() calls that could serve as POP chains; cross-reference against CVE databases
    Affected if Other vulnerable plugins/themes with POP chains are installed alongside Glossary by WPPedia

You are affected if the Glossary by WPPedia plugin versions up to 1.3.0 is installed and active, and Administrator-level access exists in the WordPress 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 the plugin to a patched version once available, or implement input validation/sanitization on the 'posttypes' parameter to prevent deserialization of untrusted data. Since admin-level access is required, ensure strong credential policies and consider limiting admin user accounts.

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-2025-4803 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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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