CVE-2025-22777: GiveWP Object Injection Vulnerability

CVE-2025-22777 Overview

CVE-2025-22777 is a critical deserialization of untrusted data vulnerability affecting the GiveWP WordPress donation plugin. This PHP Object Injection flaw allows unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious serialized objects into the application, potentially leading to complete site compromise. The vulnerability requires no authentication or user interaction to exploit, making it particularly dangerous for the over 100,000 WordPress sites using this popular donation management plugin.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this PHP Object Injection vulnerability to achieve remote code execution, potentially gaining complete control over affected WordPress installations without any user interaction.

Affected Products

• GiveWP WordPress Plugin versions through 3.19.3
• WordPress installations with vulnerable GiveWP plugin installed
• All GiveWP deployments prior to the security patch

Discovery Timeline

• January 13, 2025 - CVE-2025-22777 published to NVD
• June 4, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-22777

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability stems from insecure deserialization practices within the GiveWP plugin. When the application processes user-supplied serialized data without proper validation, attackers can craft malicious payloads containing arbitrary PHP objects. Upon deserialization, these objects can trigger dangerous magic methods (such as __wakeup(), __destruct(), or __toString()) present in the WordPress environment or other installed plugins.

The attack is particularly severe because it can be executed remotely over the network with low complexity. No authentication credentials or user interaction are required, meaning any attacker with network access to a vulnerable WordPress site can attempt exploitation. If successful, the attacker gains the ability to compromise confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the entire system.

Root Cause

The root cause is classified as CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data. The GiveWP plugin fails to properly validate or sanitize serialized input before passing it to PHP's unserialize() function. This allows attackers to inject crafted serialized strings that, when deserialized, instantiate arbitrary objects with attacker-controlled properties.

In WordPress environments, the presence of various "gadget chains" — sequences of classes with exploitable magic methods — means that object injection vulnerabilities often lead directly to remote code execution. The plugin's failure to implement allowlist-based deserialization or use safer alternatives like JSON for data interchange creates this critical security gap.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, allowing remote exploitation without authentication. An attacker can send specially crafted HTTP requests containing malicious serialized PHP objects to vulnerable GiveWP endpoints. The plugin's backend processes these requests and deserializes the attacker-controlled data.

When the malicious serialized payload is processed, PHP instantiates the objects defined in the payload. If the attacker has identified suitable gadget chains within the WordPress core, GiveWP plugin, or other installed plugins, the deserialization process can be weaponized to execute arbitrary code, read sensitive files, manipulate database records, or establish persistent backdoor access.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-22777

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual HTTP requests to GiveWP plugin endpoints containing serialized PHP data patterns (e.g., O: or a: prefixes followed by object definitions)
• Unexpected file creations or modifications in WordPress directories, particularly in wp-content/uploads/ or plugin directories
• Web server logs showing suspicious POST requests with encoded or base64 payloads targeting donation form endpoints
• Database entries containing serialized object strings in unexpected tables or fields

Detection Strategies

• Implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block requests containing PHP serialized object patterns
• Monitor WordPress file integrity using security plugins or SentinelOne Singularity to detect unauthorized modifications
• Review PHP error logs for deserialization-related warnings or fatal errors indicating exploitation attempts
• Deploy endpoint detection solutions capable of identifying PHP-based exploit chains and post-exploitation behaviors

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed access logging on web servers to capture full request bodies for forensic analysis
• Configure alerts for new WordPress admin account creations or privilege escalation events
• Monitor outbound network connections from the web server for potential data exfiltration or command-and-control communication
• Implement real-time file integrity monitoring on critical WordPress directories

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-22777

Immediate Actions Required

• Update GiveWP plugin immediately to a patched version beyond 3.19.3
• Audit WordPress installations to identify all sites running vulnerable GiveWP versions
• Review web server logs for indicators of exploitation attempts since January 2025
• Consider temporarily disabling the GiveWP plugin on critical sites until patching is complete

Patch Information

Organizations should update the GiveWP plugin to the latest available version that addresses CVE-2025-22777. The vulnerability affects all versions through 3.19.3, so any version released after the security fix should be applied. Administrators can update through the WordPress plugin dashboard or by downloading the latest version from the WordPress plugin repository.

For detailed technical information about this vulnerability, refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report and the SecurityOnline CVE-2025-22777 Alert.

Workarounds

• Implement a web application firewall (WAF) with rules to block requests containing serialized PHP object patterns as a temporary mitigation
• Restrict access to WordPress admin and plugin endpoints using IP allowlists or VPN requirements
• Disable the GiveWP plugin entirely if donation functionality is not immediately required and patching cannot be performed promptly
• Deploy runtime application self-protection (RASP) solutions capable of blocking deserialization attacks at the PHP level

# Example: Block serialized PHP patterns in Apache mod_security
SecRule ARGS "@rx O:\d+:\"[a-zA-Z0-9_]+\":\d+:\{" \
    "id:100001,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'PHP Object Injection Attempt Blocked'"