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Deserialization of Untrusted DataWeakness · CWE-502

CVE-2025-48086

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-11-06
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
61/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 wpdreams Ajax Search Lite ajax-search-lite allows Object Injection.This issue affects Ajax Search Lite: from n/a through <= 4.13.3.

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

The Ajax Search Lite WordPress plugin contains a PHP object injection vulnerability stemming from unsafe deserialization of untrusted data in its AJAX handler. Attackers can exploit this by sending crafted serialized PHP objects to the plugin's AJAX endpoints, potentially triggering magic method invocations if suitable gadget chains exist in the application.

MitigationUpdate Ajax Search Lite to the latest patched version. If no update is available, disable the plugin and consider deploying a WAF rule to block requests containing serialized data to ajax-search-lite endpoints.

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
High
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

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

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 Ajax Search Lite plugin is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Ajax Search Lite', or check the /wp-content/plugins/ajax-search-lite/ directory exists on the server
    Affected if The plugin is present in the WordPress installation
  2. Determine the installed plugin version
    Check the plugin header in ajax-search-lite/ajax-search-lite.php for the 'Version' comment, or view the plugin details in WordPress admin Plugins page
    Affected if The version is within the range of affected versions (compare your installed version to the reported affected ranges)
  3. Confirm AJAX endpoints are accessible
    Test if the plugin's AJAX handler is reachable by sending a request to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php?action=ajax_search_lite or similar endpoints under /?ajax_search_lite=1
    Affected if The AJAX endpoint responds, indicating the plugin's AJAX functionality is active
  4. Inspect for unsafe deserialization in AJAX handler
    Examine the plugin's PHP files in the /ajax-search-lite/ directory, specifically looking for unserialize() calls handling $_POST, $_GET, or $_REQUEST data without validation
    Affected if Code contains unserialize() calls processing untrusted input from AJAX requests

Your environment is affected if Ajax Search Lite is installed with a vulnerable version and the plugin's AJAX endpoints are accessible, allowing untrusted serialized data to reach unsafe unserialize() calls.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update Ajax Search Lite to the latest patched version. If no update is available, disable the plugin and consider deploying a WAF rule to block requests containing serialized data to ajax-search-lite endpoints.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Version 4.13.4 or later (latest release)

  1. Backup your WordPress site and database before making any changes.
  2. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard.
  3. Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins.
  4. Find Ajax Search Lite in the list and check if an update is available.
  5. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to upgrade to the latest version (any version higher than 4.13.3, e.g., 4.13.4 or later).
  6. If automatic updates are not enabled, manually download the latest version from the WordPress plugin repository or the vendor’s website, then upload it via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
  7. After the upgrade, verify the plugin version in the plugins list to confirm the update was successful.
Caveat No known breaking changes; test the upgrade in a staging environment before deploying to production.

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2025-48086 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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