Overview
The cybersecurity world is facing a new challenge in the form of a vulnerability, CVE-2025-49072, which involves the deserialization of untrusted data. This vulnerability primarily affects the AncoraThemes Mr. Murphy before version 1.2.12.1. The flaw lies in how the program handles serialized objects, opening up a potential pathway for attackers to compromise systems or leak sensitive data. In this blog, we will explore the technical details of this vulnerability, its implications, and how to mitigate its effects.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-49072
Severity: Critical (CVSS: 9.8)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: System compromise, potential data leakage.
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
AncoraThemes Mr. Murphy | Before 1.2.12.1
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability arises from the way AncoraThemes Mr. Murphy handles serialized (or deserialized) objects. If a malicious actor can influence the input being deserialized, they can manipulate the application into creating new objects or changing the state of existing ones. This can lead to a variety of undesired outcomes, including privilege escalation, data tampering, and, in the worst-case scenario, remote code execution.
Conceptual Example Code
Suppose an attacker wants to exploit this vulnerability. They might craft a POST request like the following, replacing “malicious_payload” with a serialized object containing malicious commands.
POST /vulnerable/endpoint HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{ "serialized_object": "malicious_payload" }The server-side application, unaware of the malicious intent, deserializes the payload and executes the commands embedded within.
Mitigation
The most effective way to mitigate this vulnerability is to apply the vendor patch. AncoraThemes has already addressed this issue in Mr. Murphy version 1.2.12.1. It is recommended to upgrade to this version or later as soon as possible. If for any reason, the patch cannot be applied immediately, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can serve as temporary mitigation. These systems can help detect and block attempts to exploit the vulnerability.
Remember, while mitigations can help prevent exploits, they are not a substitute for patching. Always keep your applications up-to-date to ensure the highest level of security.