CVE-2025-0956: WooCommerce Abandoned Cart PHP Injection Flaw

CVE-2025-0956 Overview

The WooCommerce Recover Abandoned Cart plugin for WordPress contains a PHP Object Injection vulnerability affecting all versions up to and including 24.4.0. This insecure deserialization flaw exists in the handling of the raccookie_guest_email cookie, allowing unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious PHP objects into the application. When combined with a Property-Oriented Programming (POP) chain from another installed plugin or theme, this vulnerability could enable severe attacks including arbitrary file deletion, sensitive data retrieval, or remote code execution.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can inject PHP objects via cookie manipulation. If a POP chain exists in any installed plugin or theme, this could lead to arbitrary file deletion, data exfiltration, or remote code execution on WordPress sites.

Affected Products

• WooCommerce Recover Abandoned Cart plugin versions up to and including 24.4.0
• WordPress sites running vulnerable plugin versions with additional plugins/themes containing POP chains

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-03-05 - CVE CVE-2025-0956 published to NVD
• 2026-04-15 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-0956

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability falls under the category of Insecure Deserialization (CWE-502), specifically manifesting as a PHP Object Injection flaw. The WooCommerce Recover Abandoned Cart plugin fails to properly validate and sanitize user-supplied data contained within the raccookie_guest_email cookie before passing it to PHP's deserialization functions.

When PHP deserializes untrusted data, it instantiates objects and can trigger magic methods such as __wakeup(), __destruct(), or __toString(). While the vulnerable plugin itself does not contain exploitable class structures (POP chains), WordPress environments commonly include multiple plugins and themes that may provide the necessary gadget chains for exploitation.

The network-accessible nature of this vulnerability combined with the lack of authentication requirements makes it particularly concerning for WordPress site administrators. An attacker only needs to craft a malicious serialized payload, encode it appropriately, and inject it via the cookie mechanism.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the insecure handling of the raccookie_guest_email cookie value. The plugin accepts serialized data from this cookie and passes it directly to PHP's unserialize() function without implementing proper input validation, type checking, or using safer alternatives such as JSON encoding. This violates secure coding practices that mandate never deserializing untrusted user input without strict validation or using allowlists for permitted classes.

Attack Vector

The attack is executed remotely over the network by manipulating HTTP cookie values sent to the WordPress application. An unauthenticated attacker can craft a malicious serialized PHP object payload and inject it into the raccookie_guest_email cookie. When the server processes this cookie through the vulnerable deserialization code path, the malicious object is instantiated.

The actual impact depends on the presence of exploitable POP chains in other installed components. Potential attack scenarios include:

• Arbitrary File Deletion: Leveraging POP chains that trigger file operations during object destruction
• Sensitive Data Retrieval: Exploiting chains that read and expose configuration files or database credentials
• Remote Code Execution: Utilizing chains that allow arbitrary PHP code execution through method chaining

For technical details on the vulnerability mechanics and potential exploitation techniques, refer to the Wordfence Vulnerability Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-0956

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual or malformed values in the raccookie_guest_email cookie containing serialized PHP object syntax (strings starting with O: or a:)
• Web server logs showing requests with abnormally large or suspicious cookie payloads
• Unexpected file modifications or deletions on the WordPress installation
• Evidence of unauthorized database access or data exfiltration
• Error logs containing PHP unserialization warnings or class instantiation errors

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block serialized PHP objects in cookie values
• Monitor HTTP request logs for cookies containing object serialization patterns such as O:[0-9]+: or complex nested array structures
• Deploy file integrity monitoring to detect unauthorized modifications to WordPress core, plugin, or theme files
• Utilize endpoint detection tools to identify suspicious PHP process behavior or unexpected outbound connections
• Review application error logs for deserialization-related exceptions or warnings

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging for the WooCommerce Recover Abandoned Cart plugin to capture cookie processing events
• Configure security information and event management (SIEM) systems to alert on patterns indicative of object injection attempts
• Establish baseline behavior for cookie sizes and flag anomalously large cookie values
• Monitor for signs of post-exploitation activity including new admin accounts, modified files, or database changes

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-0956

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the WooCommerce Recover Abandoned Cart plugin to the latest patched version immediately
• Audit all installed WordPress plugins and themes for known POP chains that could be leveraged in conjunction with this vulnerability
• Implement WAF rules to block serialized PHP objects in cookie values as a defense-in-depth measure
• Review server and application logs for evidence of exploitation attempts
• Consider temporarily disabling the plugin until a patch can be applied if immediate update is not possible

Patch Information

Plugin updates are available through the CodeCanyon Product Listing. Site administrators should verify they are running a version higher than 24.4.0 to ensure protection against this vulnerability. Consult the Wordfence Vulnerability Report for the latest remediation guidance.

Workarounds

• Deploy a Web Application Firewall configured to reject requests containing serialized PHP objects in cookie headers
• Implement custom PHP code or .htaccess rules to sanitize or reject the raccookie_guest_email cookie if it contains serialization patterns
• Reduce the attack surface by removing unused plugins and themes that may contain exploitable POP chains
• Apply the principle of least privilege to WordPress file system permissions to limit potential damage from arbitrary file operations

# Example .htaccess rule to block suspicious cookie patterns
# Add to WordPress root .htaccess file
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_COOKIE} raccookie_guest_email=.*O:[0-9]+: [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_COOKIE} raccookie_guest_email=.*a:[0-9]+: [NC]
RewriteRule .* - [F,L]