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Deserialization of Untrusted DataWeakness · CWE-502

CVE-2025-67996

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-02-20
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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 BoldThemes Nestin nestin allows Object Injection.This issue affects Nestin: from n/a through < 1.2.6.

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

A PHP Object Injection vulnerability exists in the BoldThemes Nestin theme due to unsafe deserialization of untrusted data. The theme contains vulnerable unserialize() calls that allow remote attackers to inject malicious PHP objects, potentially leading to remote code execution, file manipulation, or SQL injection depending on available POP chains.

MitigationUpdate Nestin to version 1.2.6 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, audit the codebase for insecure unserialize() calls and implement whitelist-based validation or replace unserialize with 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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify if Nestin theme is installed
    Locate the theme folder (typically wp-content/themes/nestin or similar) and check for style.css which contains the theme version in the header comment
    Affected if Nestin theme is present and version is below 1.2.6
  2. Determine the installed Nestin theme version
    Read the 'Version:' field from the style.css file header in the Nestin theme directory
    Affected if Version is present and is lower than 1.2.6 (e.g., 1.2.5, 1.2.0, 1.0, or any version missing from the header)
  3. Search for unsafe unserialize() calls in theme files
    Use grep or a file search tool to scan PHP files in the Nestin theme directory for patterns like 'unserialize(' without prior sanitization or validation
    Affected if Any PHP file contains unserialize() calls that process user-supplied data without validation
  4. Identify data sources feeding into unserialize()
    Review the code around each unserialize() call to trace where the deserialized data originates (e.g., $_GET, $_POST, $_COOKIE, $_REQUEST, or database fields)
    Affected if Unserialize calls accept data directly from HTTP request parameters, cookies, or untrusted storage without sanitization
  5. Verify if the vulnerable code paths are accessible
    Check if the files containing unserialize() are directly accessible via web requests and if the data flow from input to unserialize() is not blocked by authentication or validation
    Affected if The vulnerable unserialize() code can be reached by unauthenticated or authenticated users through normal theme functionality

You are affected if the Nestin theme is installed with a version below 1.2.6 and the theme codebase contains unserialize() calls that process untrusted input from HTTP requests or other user-controllable sources.

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 Nestin to version 1.2.6 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, audit the codebase for insecure unserialize() calls and implement whitelist-based validation or replace unserialize with json_decode.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Nestin version 1.2.6 or higher

  1. Upgrade the BoldThemes Nestin theme to version 1.2.6 or later
  2. After upgrading, verify the theme functions correctly on the site
  3. Ensure all site functionality works as expected after the update

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,800
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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-2025-67996 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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