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TeardropWordPress extension · Teardrop Project

CVE-2015-9476

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2019-10-10
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The Teardrop theme 1.8.1 for WordPress has insufficient restrictions on option updates.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

The Teardrop WordPress theme 1.8.1 allows unauthorized modification of WordPress options/settings due to missing capability checks on theme option update functions. This improper authorization on the options API permits low-privilege or unauthenticated attackers to alter site settings, potentially leading to privilege escalation or site compromise.

MitigationUpdate the Teardrop theme to the latest patched version. If no patch is available, replace the theme with a secure alternative or remove it entirely from the WordPress installation.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
TeardropWordPress extension
Affected:= 1.8.1

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm Teardrop theme installation and version
    Navigate to Appearance > Themes in the WordPress admin dashboard. Locate the Teardrop theme and note its version number displayed in the theme details. Alternatively, access the theme files via FTP or file manager and inspect the style.css header for the 'Version' comment, typically found in /wp-content/themes/teardrop/style.css
    Affected if The installed Teardrop theme version is 1.8.1
  2. Verify if Teardrop theme is active
    In WordPress admin under Appearance > Themes, check whether Teardrop is the currently active theme. The active theme is highlighted or marked accordingly.
    Affected if Teardrop version 1.8.1 is set as the active theme on the WordPress site
  3. Inspect theme option handling functions
    Access the theme functions.php file at /wp-content/themes/teardrop/functions.php via FTP, file manager, or the WordPress theme editor. Search for functions that handle updating theme options, such as 'update_option', 'add_settings', or AJAX handlers that modify settings. Look for whether these functions include capability checks like 'current_user_can' with appropriate roles such as 'manage_options' before allowing updates.
    Affected if Theme option update functions lack capability checks (no current_user_can validation before modifying WordPress options)
  4. Check for exposed theme AJAX endpoints
    If the theme includes AJAX functionality, examine the theme for action hooks registered with 'wp_ajax_' or 'wp_ajax_nopriv_'. Check the admin-ajax.php file accessible at /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php and verify if the theme registers public-facing AJAX actions that can modify theme settings without authentication.
    Affected if The theme exposes AJAX endpoints (especially nopriv_ hooks) that allow unauthenticated option modifications

You are affected if Teardrop theme version 1.8.1 is installed and active on your WordPress site with theme option update functions that lack proper capability validation.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update the Teardrop theme to the latest patched version. If no patch is available, replace the theme with a secure alternative or remove it entirely from the WordPress installation.

Fix this in Teardrop Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2015-9476 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data