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Deserialization of Untrusted DataWeakness · CWE-502

CVE-2025-60228

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-10-22
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 designthemes Knowledge Base kbase allows Object Injection.This issue affects Knowledge Base: from n/a through <= 2.9.

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 confidence

PHP Object Injection vulnerability in DesignThemes Knowledge Base plugin allows remote attackers to deserialize untrusted data through the kbase component. This can potentially lead to code execution if suitable POP chains exist in the WordPress environment.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched version of the Knowledge Base plugin. If no patch available, disable the plugin until a fix is released, or implement strict allowlist validation on all deserialized input.

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. Identify if DesignThemes Knowledge Base plugin is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'DesignThemes Knowledge Base' or 'Knowledge Base' by DesignThemes. Alternatively, check the /wp-content/plugins/ directory for a folder containing 'knowledge-base' or 'dt-kb' in the name.
    Affected if The plugin is installed and active
  2. Determine the installed plugin version
    In WordPress admin, click on the plugin name in the Plugins list to view its details, which typically display the version number. Alternatively, open the main plugin PHP file (usually named plugin-name.php) and look for the 'Version' header in the plugin comments.
    Affected if The version is lower than the patched version provided by DesignThemes (compare against the latest version on WordPress.org or the vendor's release notes)
  3. Verify the kbase component is accessible
    Check if the WordPress REST API endpoint /wp-json/dt-api/v1/kb or the legacy kbase component endpoint is accessible by sending a request to it. Also check WordPress permalink settings to confirm the component is not disabled.
    Affected if The kbase REST API endpoint or component returns a valid response (not 404) and accepts deserialized input
  4. Inspect server logs for deserialization attempts
    Review web server access logs (Apache/Nginx) and WordPress debug logs for requests to kbase endpoints containing serialized PHP objects (look for patterns like 'O:','a:','s:' in query parameters or POST bodies).
    Affected if Requests containing PHP serialized data are found targeting the kbase component
  5. Audit for POP chain gadgets in the WordPress environment
    Review all other installed plugins and themes for classes that could serve as POP (Property Oriented Programming) chains, particularly those with __wakeup, __destruct, or __toString magic methods that could be chained with the unserialize call.
    Affected if Other plugins contain exploitable POP chain gadgets that could be triggered through the deserialization vulnerability

The environment is affected if the DesignThemes Knowledge Base plugin is installed, the kbase component is accessible, and the installed version is older than the patched version - regardless of whether POP chain gadgets currently exist 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

Upgrade to a patched version of the Knowledge Base plugin. If no patch available, disable the plugin until a fix is released, or implement strict allowlist validation on all deserialized input.

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-2025-60228 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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