CVE-2025-47552: DZS Video Gallery Object Injection Flaw

CVE-2025-47552 Overview

CVE-2025-47552 is a critical Deserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability affecting the DZS Video Gallery plugin for WordPress developed by Digital zoom studio. This vulnerability allows attackers to perform PHP Object Injection attacks, potentially leading to remote code execution, data manipulation, or complete system compromise. The flaw stems from improper handling of serialized data, enabling malicious actors to inject arbitrary PHP objects into the application.

Critical Impact

This vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to exploit insecure deserialization to inject malicious PHP objects, potentially achieving remote code execution on affected WordPress installations.

Affected Products

• DZS Video Gallery plugin for WordPress (versions through 12.37)
• WordPress installations using vulnerable versions of DZS Video Gallery
• Web applications with the dzs-videogallery plugin installed

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-01-07 - CVE CVE-2025-47552 published to NVD
• 2026-01-08 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-47552

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-502 (Deserialization of Untrusted Data). The DZS Video Gallery plugin fails to properly validate and sanitize serialized data before processing it through PHP's deserialization functions. When user-controlled data is passed to unserialize() without adequate validation, attackers can craft malicious serialized payloads that instantiate arbitrary PHP objects with attacker-controlled properties.

The network-accessible nature of this vulnerability means that exploitation can occur remotely without any authentication requirements. No user interaction is necessary for successful exploitation, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous for internet-facing WordPress installations.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability lies in the plugin's use of PHP's unserialize() function on untrusted input without implementing proper validation or using safe deserialization alternatives. When the application deserializes attacker-controlled data, it can trigger magic methods (__wakeup(), __destruct(), __toString()) on instantiated objects, leading to Property-Oriented Programming (POP) chain exploitation.

The vulnerability exists in versions through 12.37 of the DZS Video Gallery plugin, where user input is processed through deserialization without sanitization or type checking.

Attack Vector

The attack is conducted over the network, requiring no authentication or user interaction. Attackers can submit specially crafted serialized PHP objects to vulnerable endpoints within the plugin. When the application deserializes this malicious input, it can trigger a chain of method calls that ultimately lead to arbitrary code execution.

Exploitation typically involves:

1. Identifying a gadget chain within the WordPress installation or its plugins
2. Crafting a serialized payload that triggers dangerous functionality when deserialized
3. Submitting the payload to the vulnerable plugin endpoint
4. Achieving code execution, file manipulation, or data exfiltration depending on available gadgets

For detailed technical information, refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-47552

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual serialized data patterns in HTTP POST requests containing O: prefixes followed by object definitions
• Unexpected PHP object instantiation in web server logs
• Anomalous file creation or modification in WordPress directories
• Suspicious outbound network connections from the web server

Detection Strategies

• Monitor web application firewall (WAF) logs for serialized PHP object patterns in request parameters
• Implement intrusion detection rules to flag requests containing serialized object structures like O:[0-9]+:" patterns
• Review WordPress access logs for unusual POST requests to DZS Video Gallery plugin endpoints
• Deploy runtime application self-protection (RASP) solutions to detect deserialization attacks

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for the WordPress installation and monitor for unusual plugin activity
• Configure security monitoring to alert on unexpected PHP process spawning
• Implement file integrity monitoring on WordPress core directories and the wp-content/plugins/dzs-videogallery/ directory
• Monitor network traffic for suspicious outbound connections from the web server

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-47552

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the DZS Video Gallery plugin to the latest patched version immediately
• If a patch is not available, deactivate and remove the DZS Video Gallery plugin until a fix is released
• Review WordPress logs for signs of exploitation attempts
• Consider implementing a web application firewall (WAF) with rules to block serialized object injection attacks

Patch Information

Organizations should update the DZS Video Gallery plugin beyond version 12.37 once a patched version becomes available from the vendor. Until then, the plugin should be disabled on production systems. Consult the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for the latest patch status and additional mitigation guidance.

Workarounds

• Temporarily disable the DZS Video Gallery plugin until an official patch is available
• Implement WAF rules to block requests containing serialized PHP object patterns
• Restrict access to the WordPress admin area and plugin endpoints via IP whitelisting
• Consider using alternative video gallery plugins that are actively maintained and security-audited

# Disable DZS Video Gallery plugin via WP-CLI
wp plugin deactivate dzs-videogallery

# Verify plugin status
wp plugin list --status=inactive | grep dzs-videogallery