CVE-2025-67995: PatioTime Object Injection Vulnerability

CVE-2025-67995 Overview

CVE-2025-67995 is a critical Insecure Deserialization vulnerability affecting the LoftOcean PatioTime WordPress theme. The vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary PHP objects through the deserialization of untrusted data, potentially leading to complete system compromise. This type of PHP Object Injection flaw can be chained with existing gadget chains within the WordPress ecosystem to achieve remote code execution.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this PHP Object Injection vulnerability to execute arbitrary code, access sensitive data, or completely compromise WordPress installations running vulnerable versions of the PatioTime theme.

Affected Products

• LoftOcean PatioTime WordPress Theme versions prior to 2.1

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-02-20 - CVE CVE-2025-67995 published to NVD
• 2026-02-24 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-67995

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability stems from insecure deserialization practices within the PatioTime WordPress theme developed by LoftOcean. The theme improperly processes serialized PHP data from untrusted sources without adequate validation, enabling attackers to inject malicious PHP objects. When these objects are deserialized, their magic methods (such as __wakeup(), __destruct(), or __toString()) can be triggered, leading to arbitrary code execution depending on the available gadget chains within the application context.

The vulnerability requires no authentication and can be exploited remotely over the network with low attack complexity. A successful exploit grants attackers high-level access to confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system, making this a severe threat to WordPress installations using this theme.

Root Cause

The root cause is improper handling of serialized data in the PatioTime theme. The vulnerable code path accepts user-controlled serialized input and passes it directly to PHP's unserialize() function without implementing proper validation, allowlisting of permitted classes, or sanitization of the input data. This violates CWE-502 (Deserialization of Untrusted Data) security requirements.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, requiring no user interaction or prior authentication. An attacker can craft a malicious serialized PHP object containing a carefully constructed payload. When this payload reaches the vulnerable deserialization endpoint, PHP instantiates the attacker-controlled object and executes any associated magic methods. By leveraging Property Oriented Programming (POP) chains present in WordPress core, plugins, or the theme itself, attackers can escalate this object injection to full remote code execution.

The exploitation typically involves:

1. Identifying the vulnerable deserialization endpoint
2. Crafting a serialized payload using known POP gadget chains
3. Submitting the malicious payload to the target WordPress site
4. Achieving code execution when the object is deserialized

For technical details on this vulnerability, refer to the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-67995

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual HTTP requests containing serialized PHP data patterns (strings beginning with O:, a:, or s:)
• Unexpected file creation or modification in WordPress theme directories
• New administrator accounts or modified user privileges without authorization
• Web server error logs showing deserialization errors or unexpected object instantiation

Detection Strategies

• Monitor web application logs for requests containing PHP serialized object patterns in POST data, query strings, or cookies
• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block serialized PHP object injection attempts
• Deploy SentinelOne Singularity to detect post-exploitation behavior including unauthorized process spawning, file system modifications, and network callbacks
• Conduct regular theme version audits to identify outdated PatioTime installations

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging on WordPress installations to capture all incoming requests to theme endpoints
• Configure intrusion detection systems to alert on PHP deserialization attack signatures
• Monitor for suspicious outbound network connections from web server processes that may indicate successful exploitation
• Implement file integrity monitoring on WordPress installations to detect unauthorized changes

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-67995

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the PatioTime WordPress theme to version 2.1 or later immediately
• Audit WordPress installations to identify all instances of the PatioTime theme
• Review server logs for signs of exploitation attempts or successful compromise
• Consider temporarily disabling the PatioTime theme until patching is complete on critical systems

Patch Information

LoftOcean has addressed this vulnerability in PatioTime version 2.1. Site administrators should update through the WordPress admin dashboard or download the patched version directly from the theme vendor. After updating, verify the theme version by checking the style.css file header or via the WordPress admin panel under Appearance > Themes.

For additional vulnerability details and patch information, see the Patchstack security advisory.

Workarounds

• If immediate patching is not possible, implement WAF rules to block requests containing serialized PHP object patterns
• Restrict access to WordPress admin and theme endpoints using IP allowlisting where feasible
• Deploy SentinelOne endpoint protection to detect and prevent post-exploitation activities
• Consider using WordPress security plugins that provide virtual patching capabilities for known vulnerabilities

# Example: Block PHP serialized object patterns in Apache .htaccess
# Add to WordPress root .htaccess file
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} (O:|a:|s:)[0-9]+: [NC,OR]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_BODY} (O:|a:|s:)[0-9]+: [NC]
RewriteRule .* - [F,L]
</IfModule>