CVE-2025-3101: Privilege Escalation Vulnerability in Configurator Theme Core Plugin for WordPress

Overview

The CVE-2025-3101 vulnerability poses a significant risk to all users of the Configurator Theme Core plugin for WordPress. This exploit allows authenticated attackers, even those with the most basic Subscriber-level access, to escalate their privileges to Administrator. Any website using all versions up to and including 1.4.7 of the plugin is at risk. The implications of an attacker gaining Administrator privileges on a website are enormous, potentially leading to system compromise or extensive data leakage.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-3101
Severity: High (8.8 CVSS)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: Low (Subscriber-level access)
User Interaction: None
Impact: System compromise or data leakage

Affected Products

Product | Affected Versions

Configurator Theme Core plugin for WordPress | Up to and including 1.4.7

How the Exploit Works

The CVE-2025-3101 vulnerability stems from the failure of the Configurator Theme Core plugin to properly validate user meta fields before updating them in the database. An attacker with at least Subscriber-level access can manipulate these fields and thereby escalate their privileges to the Administrator level. This privilege escalation can grant the attacker full control over the WordPress site, potentially leading to system compromise or data leakage.

Conceptual Example Code

The following is a conceptual example of how an authenticated attacker with Subscriber-level access might exploit this vulnerability, sending a malicious HTTP POST request to a vulnerable endpoint:

POST /wp-json/configurator-theme-core/v1/update-user-meta HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{
"meta_key": "wp_capabilities",
"meta_value": "a:1:{s:13:\"administrator\";b:1;}"
}

In this example, the attacker is updating the `wp_capabilities` meta field, essentially assigning themselves the “administrator” role on the WordPress site.

Mitigation

To counter this vulnerability, users are advised to apply the vendor patch as soon as it becomes available. In the meantime, implementing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can offer temporary mitigation. These systems can help detect and block suspicious activity, potentially preventing successful exploitation of the vulnerability.