CVE-2025-60228
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a PHP object injection vulnerability in the designthemes Knowledge Base WordPress theme. Attackers can exploit insecure deserialization to execute arbitrary code on affected websites. All WordPress sites using Knowledge Base theme versions up to and including 2.9 are vulnerable.
💻 Affected Systems
- designthemes Knowledge Base 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 system compromise, data theft, website defacement, or ransomware deployment.
Likely Case
Unauthenticated attackers gain shell access, install backdoors, steal sensitive data, or pivot to internal networks.
If Mitigated
Attackers can still exploit the vulnerability but impact is limited by network segmentation, WAF rules, and minimal privileges.
🎯 Exploit Status
Public exploit details are available on Patchstack. The vulnerability requires no authentication and has simple exploitation vectors.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Version after 2.9 (check WordPress theme repository for latest)
Vendor Advisory: https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Theme/kbase/vulnerability/wordpress-knowledge-base-theme-2-9-php-object-injection-vulnerability?_s_id=cve
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Appearance > Themes. 3. Check if Knowledge Base theme has updates available. 4. Update to latest version. 5. If no update available, replace with alternative theme.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable vulnerable theme
allSwitch to a different WordPress theme to remove the vulnerable code.
wp theme activate twentytwentyfour --allow-root
WAF rule for deserialization
allBlock malicious deserialization attempts with web application firewall rules.
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict network segmentation to isolate WordPress instance
- Deploy web application firewall with rules blocking PHP object injection patterns
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Appearance > Themes for Knowledge Base theme version 2.9 or earlier.Check Version:
wp theme list --field=version --field=name | grep -i knowledgeVerify Fix Applied:
Verify theme version is updated beyond 2.9 in WordPress admin or via wp-cli: wp theme list --field=version --field=name📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unusual POST requests to theme files
- PHP error logs containing unserialize() warnings
- Web server logs with base64 encoded payloads
Network Indicators:
- HTTP requests containing serialized PHP objects in parameters
- Traffic to known exploit paths in the theme directory
SIEM Query:
source="web_logs" AND (uri_path="*kbase*" OR uri_path="*knowledge*base*") AND (http_method="POST" AND (param="*O:*" OR param="*C:*" OR param="*a:*"))