CVE-2025-12099 is a vulnerability classified under CWE-502 (Deserialization of Untrusted Data) found in the Academy LMS WordPress plugin, a popular eLearning solution. The flaw exists in the 'import_all_courses' function, which deserializes PHP objects from untrusted input without sufficient validation. This unsafe deserialization allows an authenticated user with administrator privileges to inject crafted PHP objects. However, exploitation depends on the presence of a gadget POP (Property Oriented Programming) chain in other installed plugins or themes, which can be leveraged to perform malicious actions such as arbitrary file deletion, sensitive data extraction, or remote code execution. The vulnerability does not require user interaction beyond admin authentication and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.2, reflecting its high impact and low attack complexity. No known exploits are currently in the wild, but the risk is significant due to the potential for severe consequences if exploited. The vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 3.3.8 of the plugin. Since the vulnerability requires a POP chain, the overall risk depends on the environment's plugin/theme ecosystem. The vulnerability was published on November 8, 2025, and no official patches or updates were linked at the time of reporting.

For European organizations, especially educational institutions and eLearning providers using the Academy LMS plugin on WordPress, this vulnerability poses a serious risk. Successful exploitation can lead to full compromise of the LMS environment, including unauthorized data access, deletion of critical course content or user data, and potential server takeover through remote code execution. This can disrupt educational services, cause data breaches involving personal and academic information, and damage organizational reputation. The requirement for administrator-level access limits the attack vector to insiders or compromised admin accounts, but given the privileged nature of such accounts, the impact remains critical. The dependency on additional plugins or themes containing POP chains means that complex WordPress environments with multiple third-party components are at higher risk. European organizations with stringent data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR) face legal and compliance consequences if sensitive data is exposed or lost. The disruption of eLearning platforms can also affect remote education continuity, which remains vital in many European countries.

1. Immediately restrict administrator access to trusted personnel only and enforce strong authentication mechanisms such as multi-factor authentication (MFA). 2. Conduct an audit of all installed WordPress plugins and themes to identify and remove or update components that may contain gadget POP chains. 3. Monitor and limit plugin/theme installations to those from reputable sources with active maintenance. 4. Employ web application firewalls (WAFs) capable of detecting and blocking deserialization attacks and suspicious serialized payloads. 5. Regularly back up LMS data and WordPress configurations to enable quick recovery in case of compromise. 6. Stay alert for official patches or updates from the Academy LMS plugin vendor and apply them promptly once available. 7. Implement strict input validation and sanitization policies where possible, especially for functions handling serialized data. 8. Consider isolating the LMS environment from other critical systems to limit lateral movement if exploitation occurs. 9. Educate administrators about the risks of installing unverified plugins or themes that could introduce gadget chains. 10. Monitor logs for unusual activity related to the 'import_all_courses' function or deserialization processes.