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Deserialization of Untrusted DataWeakness · CWE-502

CVE-2025-8289

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-20
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
82/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 Redirection for Contact Form 7 plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection in all versions up to, and including, 3.2.4 via deserialization of untrusted input in the delete_associated_files function. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject a PHP Object. This vulnerability may be exploited by unauthenticated attackers when a form is present on the site with a file upload action, and doesn't affect sites with PHP version > 8. This vulnerability also requires the 'Redirection For Contact Form 7 Extension - Create Post' extension to be installed and activated in order to be exploited. 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. We confirmed there is a usable gadget in Contact Form 7 plugin that makes arbitrary file deletion possible when installed with this plugin. Given Contact Form 7 is a requirement of this plugin, it is likely that any site with this plugin and the 'Redirection For Contact Form 7 Extension - Create Post' extension enabled is vulnerable to arbitrary file deletion.

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

PHP Object Injection vulnerability in Redirection for Contact Form 7 plugin (versions up to 3.2.4) via unsafe deserialization in delete_associated_files function. Exploitation requires unauthenticated access, PHP <= 8, a form with file upload action present, AND the 'Redirection For Contact Form 7 Extension - Create Post' extension to be active. While no POP chain exists in the vulnerable plugin itself, a usable gadget in the required Contact Form 7 dependency enables arbitrary file deletion.

MitigationUpdate Redirection for Contact Form 7 to version beyond 3.2.4 and deactivate the 'Create Post' extension until patched. Sites running PHP > 8 are not affected. Remove any unnecessary plugins that could provide POP chains.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/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. Check Redirection for Contact Form 7 plugin version
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Redirection for Contact Form 7'. Note the version number displayed, or inspect the plugin header in /wp-content/plugins/redirection-for-contact-form-7/readme.txt or the main plugin PHP file.
    Affected if The installed version is 3.2.4 or lower.
  2. Check PHP version
    Run 'php -v' from command line, or check the PHP version in your hosting control panel, or add a PHP info file with '<?php phpinfo(); ?>' to your web root and access it securely.
    Affected if The server runs PHP version 8.0 or lower.
  3. Verify Create Post extension is active
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Redirection For Contact Form 7 Extension - Create Post' or check the extensions list within the Redirection for Contact Form 7 plugin settings.
    Affected if The 'Create Post' extension is installed and activated.
  4. Identify forms with file upload actions
    In WordPress admin, go to Contact > Contact Forms and review each form's settings. Check if any form has a 'File Upload' field configured and the Redirection for Contact Form 7 action is set to handle file uploads.
    Affected if There exists at least one Contact Form 7 form with a file upload field and the plugin's redirection action enabled.
  5. Inspect the vulnerable delete_associated_files function
    Access the plugin source code in /wp-content/plugins/redirection-for-contact-form-7/includes/ and locate the delete_associated_files function. Verify it contains an unserialize() call on user-supplied input without proper sanitization.
    Affected if The function contains an unsafe unserialize() call processing external input.

You are affected if your site runs Redirection for Contact Form 7 version 3.2.4 or lower on PHP 8.0 or below, has the Create Post extension active, and contains a form with file upload functionality - all four conditions must be met for the vulnerability to be exploitable.

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 Redirection for Contact Form 7 to version beyond 3.2.4 and deactivate the 'Create Post' extension until patched. Sites running PHP > 8 are not affected. Remove any unnecessary plugins that could provide POP chains.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Version 3.2.5 or later

  1. Log in to WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Locate 'Redirection for Contact Form 7' plugin
  4. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to update to the latest version
  5. After updating, verify the plugin version is 3.2.5 or higher
  6. Alternatively, you can manually download the latest version from wordpress.org/plugins/redirection-for-contact-form-7/ and upload via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,770
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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-2025-8289 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data