CVE-2025-49331: eCommerce Product Catalog Vulnerability

CVE-2025-49331 Overview

CVE-2025-49331 is a PHP Object Injection vulnerability in the impleCode eCommerce Product Catalog plugin for WordPress. The flaw is a Deserialization of Untrusted Data weakness [CWE-502] affecting all plugin versions up to and including 3.4.3. Authenticated attackers with high privileges can pass attacker-controlled serialized input to a unserialize() call, triggering PHP object instantiation with malicious properties. When combined with a suitable POP (Property-Oriented Programming) gadget chain from WordPress core or another installed plugin, this leads to code execution, file operations, or data tampering on the target site.

Critical Impact
Successful exploitation results in full compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the WordPress site hosting the vulnerable plugin.

Affected Products

impleCode eCommerce Product Catalog plugin for WordPress
All versions from unspecified initial release through 3.4.3
WordPress sites with the ecommerce-product-catalog plugin activated

Discovery Timeline

2025-06-17 - CVE-2025-49331 published to the National Vulnerability Database
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-49331

Vulnerability Analysis

The plugin passes untrusted input to PHP's unserialize() function without validating the source or structure of the serialized data. PHP object deserialization instantiates arbitrary classes and populates their properties with attacker-controlled values. When those objects are subsequently used, PHP invokes magic methods such as __wakeup(), __destruct(), or __toString(), which can chain into dangerous sinks like file_put_contents, eval, or SQL execution paths.

The attack requires authenticated access with high privileges, which limits opportunistic exploitation but does not eliminate risk. Compromised administrator accounts, insider abuse, or chained authentication flaws convert this into a reliable path to arbitrary code execution. The EPSS score is 0.441% at the 35.276 percentile.

Root Cause

The root cause is the direct deserialization of user-supplied or request-derived data. The plugin trusts serialized payloads that traverse HTTP requests, database records, or option storage without cryptographic integrity checks or type-safe parsing. Any input reaching unserialize() is treated as authoritative object graph data.

Attack Vector

Exploitation is performed over the network against the WordPress admin interface or a plugin endpoint reachable by authenticated privileged users. The attacker crafts a serialized PHP payload referencing classes present in the WordPress runtime that expose magic methods. The payload is submitted via a plugin parameter that is later deserialized, triggering the gadget chain. See the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Report for advisory details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-49331

Indicators of Compromise

HTTP request parameters containing serialized PHP markers such as O: (object), a: (array), or s: (string) sent to plugin endpoints under /wp-admin/ or wp-content/plugins/ecommerce-product-catalog/.
Unexpected PHP files written under wp-content/uploads/ or the plugin directory following administrative actions.
New or modified WordPress options and postmeta entries containing serialized objects that reference unfamiliar class names.

Detection Strategies

Inspect web server access logs for POST bodies to plugin routes containing unserialize-friendly payloads and correlate with authenticated admin sessions.
Enable WordPress audit logging to capture plugin option changes, user role changes, and file writes performed shortly after plugin requests.
Deploy a WAF rule that flags request parameters beginning with O: followed by a class name and colon-separated property counts.

Monitoring Recommendations

Monitor for plugin version 3.4.3 or lower on all managed WordPress sites and inventory exposure.
Alert on privilege escalations, new administrator accounts, and unexpected scheduled tasks (wp_cron) after plugin usage.
Track outbound connections from the web host to unfamiliar destinations, which often follow successful RCE via object injection.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-49331

Immediate Actions Required

Update the ecommerce-product-catalog plugin to a version later than 3.4.3 once the vendor publishes a fix.
Audit administrator and privileged editor accounts, rotate credentials, and enforce multi-factor authentication on all WordPress admin logins.
Review recent file changes under wp-content/ and database options for signs of injected serialized objects or webshells.

Patch Information

At the time of publication, refer to the Patchstack advisory for CVE-2025-49331 for the latest patched version. Apply the fixed release through the WordPress plugin updater or by replacing the plugin directory with a clean copy.

Workarounds

Deactivate and remove the eCommerce Product Catalog plugin on sites where it is not required until a patched release is installed.
Restrict access to /wp-admin/ using IP allowlisting or a reverse proxy authentication layer to reduce the population of privileged users reachable by attackers.
Deploy a virtual patch via a web application firewall to block serialized PHP payloads submitted to the plugin's endpoints.

bash

# Example WAF rule (ModSecurity) blocking serialized object payloads to the plugin
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@contains /wp-content/plugins/ecommerce-product-catalog/" \
    "chain,phase:2,deny,status:403,id:1004933,msg:'CVE-2025-49331 PHP object injection attempt'"
    SecRule ARGS "@rx O:[0-9]+:\"[A-Za-z0-9_\\\\]+\":[0-9]+:\{" "t:none"