Theme Per UserWordPress extension · Presslabs
CVE-2023-52181
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 · uneditedDeserialization of Untrusted Data vulnerability in Presslabs Theme per user.This issue affects Theme per user: from n/a through 1.0.1.
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 confidenceA deserialization of untrusted data vulnerability in Presslabs Theme per user allows attackers to potentially execute arbitrary code or gain unauthorized access. The critical severity (CVSS 9.8) indicates this is a remotely exploitable flaw with high impact.
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
Theme Per UserWordPress extension
<= 1.0.1CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate the theme installationCheck your WordPress installation under wp-content/themes/ for a folder named 'per-user' or similar Presslabs theme directoryAffected if The theme folder exists in the themes directory
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Identify the theme versionOpen the theme's style.css file (usually in the theme root) and look for the 'Version:' comment headerAffected if The version listed is 1.0.1 or lower, or if no version is specified and the theme appears to be the Presslabs Per User theme
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Confirm the theme is activeIn WordPress admin dashboard, go to Appearance > Themes to see which theme is currently activatedAffected if The Presslabs Theme Per User is shown as the active theme
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Check for deserialization entry pointsInspect the theme's PHP files for usage of unserialize() function with user-controlled input, commonly found in shortcode handlers, AJAX endpoints, or template filesAffected if The theme contains PHP files that process serialized data from $_GET, $_POST, or $_REQUEST parameters without validation
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Review theme settings or optionsIn WordPress admin, check the theme options panel (usually under Appearance > Theme Options or a dedicated menu item) for any settings related to user-specific display logicAffected if The theme has a 'per user' feature enabled that allows storing or retrieving user-specific data
You are affected if the Presslabs Theme Per User is installed with version 1.0.1 or lower and the theme is active, as the deserialization vulnerability can be exploited remotely without authentication.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpgrade to the latest version of Presslabs Theme per user once available. If no patch exists, consider removing or disabling the theme until a fix is released.
Fix this in Theme Per User
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-52181 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2023-52181 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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