CVE-2025-24777
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a PHP object injection vulnerability in the Hillter WordPress theme due to unsafe deserialization of untrusted data. Attackers can exploit this to execute arbitrary code, potentially compromising the entire WordPress site. All WordPress installations using Hillter theme versions up to 3.0.7 are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- awethemes Hillter WordPress Theme
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution leading to complete site takeover, data theft, malware deployment, and server compromise.
Likely Case
Arbitrary code execution within WordPress context, allowing privilege escalation, backdoor installation, and data manipulation.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper input validation, WAF rules, and minimal user privileges.
🎯 Exploit Status
Public exploit details available on Patchstack. Simple serialized payload injection leads to object instantiation.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 3.0.8 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://patchstack.com/database/wordpress/theme/hillter/vulnerability/wordpress-hillter-3-0-7-php-object-injection-vulnerability?_s_id=cve
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Appearance > Themes. 3. Check Hillter theme version. 4. Update to version 3.0.8+ via WordPress updates or manual upload.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable Hillter Theme
allSwitch to a different WordPress theme temporarily
wp theme activate twentytwentyfour
wp theme deactivate hillter
WAF Rule for Deserialization
allBlock serialized object patterns in HTTP requests
ModSecurity: SecRule ARGS "@rx O:[0-9]+:" "id:1001,phase:2,deny,msg:'PHP Object Injection Attempt'"
Cloudflare WAF: Create rule to block requests containing 'O:' followed by numbers
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict input validation to reject serialized data in user inputs
- Restrict file permissions and disable dangerous PHP functions like unserialize() via php.ini
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress theme version: wp theme list --fields=name,status,version | grep hillterCheck Version:
wp theme get hillter --field=versionVerify Fix Applied:
Confirm Hillter theme version is 3.0.8 or higher: wp theme get hillter --field=version📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- PHP warnings about unserialize()
- Web server logs with unusual POST data containing serialized objects
- WordPress debug.log entries with unserialization errors
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests containing serialized PHP objects (patterns like O:8:"stdClass")
- Unusual POST requests to theme files or admin-ajax.php
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND ("O:[0-9]+:" OR "unserialize" OR "__destruct" OR "__wakeup")