Overview
CVE-2025-49401 is a critical vulnerability discovered in ExpressTech Systems Quiz And Survey Master, a popular software tool used for creating online quizzes and surveys. The vulnerability lies in the deserialization of untrusted data, which potentially allows Object Injection. This vulnerability affects all versions of the software up to and including 10.2.5. Given the severity score of 9.8, this vulnerability is considered highly critical and can lead to significant consequences such as system compromise or data leakage if not mitigated promptly.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-49401
Severity: Critical (9.8)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: System compromise and potential data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
ExpressTech Systems Quiz And Survey Master | Up to and including 10.2.5
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability works by exploiting the deserialization process of untrusted data within the application. When an attacker sends a specially crafted object to the application, and the application attempts to deserialize it without proper validation or sanitization, this leads to Object Injection. This can allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code, leading to a potential system compromise or data leakage.
Conceptual Example Code
Below is a conceptual example demonstrating how the vulnerability might be exploited:
POST /api/unsecureDeserialize HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{ "malicious_payload": "SerializedObjectWithInjectedCode" }In the above example, the attacker sends a serialized object with injected code as part of the JSON payload. This object is then deserialized by the vulnerable endpoint, executing the injected code and compromising the system.
Solutions and Mitigations
In response to this critical vulnerability, the vendor has released a patch. Users are strongly advised to apply the patch immediately to mitigate the risk of a potential attack. In situations where the patch cannot be applied immediately, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can serve as a temporary mitigation strategy. These systems can help detect and prevent malicious objects from being deserialized, thereby reducing the risk of an exploit.
