Friends: Code execution
Friends is affected by code execution. Exploitation requires at least subscriber-level access. Successful exploitation can run attacker-controlled code in the WordPress hosting account.
- Component
- Friends
- Plugin slug
friends- Affected
- See vendor advisory
- Safe version
- See mitigation notes
- Published
- Jul 12, 2025
This CVE was published Jul 12, 2025 and is one of 3 known issues for this plugin.
Update, patch or deactivate.
Update Friends to a release outside the affected range, or disable and remove it until a fixed version is available.
No confirmed safe version is listed. Consider a vendor-supported patch or temporarily restricting the affected functionality while you assess the risk.
Deactivate only when warranted by your risk profile, or when advised by your hosting provider in the limited circumstances where the vulnerability cannot otherwise be mitigated. If you’re unsure which action is appropriate, contact Fused or your hosting provider for guidance.
Technical description
The Friends plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection in version 3.5.1 via deserialization of untrusted input of the query_vars parameter This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to inject a PHP Object. No known POP chain is present in the vulnerable software, which means this vulnerability has no impact unless another plugin or theme containing a POP chain is installed on the site. If a POP chain is present via an additional plugin or theme installed on the target system, it may allow the attacker to perform actions like delete arbitrary files, retrieve sensitive data, or execute code depending on the POP chain present. This requires access to the sites SALT_NONCE and and SALT_KEY to exploit.
CVE / CNA vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H