CVE-2025-7696: Pipedrive Integration Plugin RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2025-7696 Overview

A critical PHP Object Injection vulnerability has been identified in the Integration for Pipedrive and Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Ninja Forms plugin for WordPress. This vulnerability exists in all versions up to and including 1.2.3 and stems from insecure deserialization of untrusted input within the verify_field_val() function. Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this flaw to inject malicious PHP objects, potentially leading to arbitrary file deletion, denial of service, or remote code execution.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can achieve remote code execution by exploiting a POP chain in conjunction with Contact Form 7, enabling deletion of critical files including wp-config.php.

Affected Products

• Integration for Pipedrive and Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Ninja Forms plugin versions ≤ 1.2.3
• WordPress sites using the vulnerable plugin alongside Contact Form 7 (increases exploit severity)
• Any WordPress installation with the affected plugin installed and active

Discovery Timeline

• July 19, 2025 - CVE-2025-7696 published to NVD
• July 22, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-7696

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-502 (Deserialization of Untrusted Data). The verify_field_val() function in the affected plugin processes user-supplied input without adequate validation, allowing attackers to pass serialized PHP objects that are subsequently deserialized by the application. When a malicious serialized payload is processed, PHP instantiates the object and executes any magic methods defined in the class, such as __destruct() or __wakeup().

The presence of a Property-Oriented Programming (POP) chain in the Contact Form 7 plugin, which is commonly installed alongside this integration plugin, significantly amplifies the impact. This POP chain can be leveraged to perform arbitrary file operations, including deletion of the WordPress configuration file (wp-config.php). Deleting this critical file forces WordPress into setup mode, allowing attackers to reconfigure the installation with malicious settings or achieve complete site takeover.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability lies in the unsafe use of PHP's unserialize() function on user-controlled input within the verify_field_val() function at line 953 of the plugin code. The function fails to implement proper input validation, type checking, or allowlisting of acceptable classes before deserializing the data. This architectural flaw allows attackers to craft malicious serialized payloads that, when deserialized, instantiate arbitrary PHP objects within the application context.

Attack Vector

The vulnerability is exploitable over the network by unauthenticated attackers. The attack does not require any user interaction or special privileges. An attacker can submit crafted HTTP requests containing malicious serialized PHP objects to endpoints processed by the vulnerable verify_field_val() function.

When the plugin deserializes the attacker-controlled input, the injected PHP object is instantiated. If a suitable POP chain exists in the application's class hierarchy (such as the one present in Contact Form 7), the attacker can chain together multiple class methods to achieve arbitrary file deletion or code execution. The attack flow typically involves:

1. Identifying the vulnerable endpoint that processes serialized data
2. Crafting a serialized payload containing objects that leverage existing POP chains
3. Submitting the payload to trigger deserialization and execute the malicious chain
4. Achieving arbitrary file deletion (e.g., wp-config.php) or remote code execution

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-7696

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected HTTP POST requests to Contact Form 7 or Pipedrive integration endpoints containing serialized PHP data (base64-encoded or raw serialized strings starting with O: or a:)
• Missing or modified wp-config.php file without authorized administrative changes
• WordPress site unexpectedly entering installation/setup mode
• Web server access logs showing requests with unusual serialized object patterns in POST data
• Unexpected file deletions or modifications in the WordPress installation directory

Detection Strategies

• Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block serialized PHP object patterns in request parameters
• Monitor for deserialization-related PHP errors in application logs
• Deploy file integrity monitoring to detect unauthorized changes to critical WordPress files
• Analyze network traffic for requests containing PHP serialization markers targeting the affected plugin endpoints
• Use endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to identify suspicious file operations initiated by PHP processes

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable detailed logging for the WordPress installation and web server access logs
• Set up alerts for any modifications to wp-config.php or core WordPress files
• Monitor PHP error logs for serialization/unserialization related warnings and errors
• Implement real-time file integrity monitoring for critical WordPress directories
• Review access logs regularly for requests with unusual payload patterns targeting form submission endpoints

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-7696

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the Integration for Pipedrive and Contact Form 7, WPForms, Elementor, Ninja Forms plugin to the latest patched version immediately
• If unable to update, temporarily disable the vulnerable plugin until a patch can be applied
• Review web server and WordPress logs for evidence of exploitation attempts
• Verify the integrity of wp-config.php and other critical WordPress files
• Implement WAF rules to block serialized PHP object patterns in incoming requests

Patch Information

A security patch addressing this vulnerability has been released. The fix is available in the WordPress Changeset 3329002. Users should update to the latest version through the WordPress plugin repository. For detailed information about plugin updates, refer to the WordPress Developer Resources page. Additional vulnerability details are documented in the Wordfence Vulnerability Report.

Workarounds

• Disable the Integration for Pipedrive plugin temporarily if an immediate update is not possible
• Implement WAF rules to filter and block requests containing PHP serialized data patterns (e.g., O:[0-9]+:" regex patterns)
• Restrict access to WordPress admin and plugin endpoints using IP allowlisting where feasible
• Enable additional hardening measures such as disabling XML-RPC and restricting REST API access
• Consider using a WordPress security plugin with virtual patching capabilities to provide interim protection

# Configuration example - Apache mod_security rule to block PHP serialization patterns
# Add to .htaccess or Apache configuration
SecRule REQUEST_BODY "@rx O:[0-9]+:\"" "id:1001,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'Blocked PHP Object Injection attempt'"
SecRule ARGS "@rx ^(O|a|s):[0-9]+:" "id:1002,phase:2,deny,status:403,msg:'Blocked serialized PHP object in parameters'"