dbcve.org
Royal CoreWordPress extension · Wp Royal Themes

CVE-2024-12129

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-01-30
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 2.9.2 or later.
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 Royal Core plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data that can lead to privilege escalation due to a missing capability check on the 'royal_restore_backup' function in all versions up to, and including, 2.9.2. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to update arbitrary options on the WordPress site. This can be leveraged to update the default role for registration to administrator and enable user registration for attackers to gain administrative user access to a vulnerable site.

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 · high confidence

The Royal Core WordPress plugin lacks a capability check on the royal_restore_backup function, allowing any authenticated user with Subscriber-level access or higher to modify arbitrary WordPress options. Attackers can enable user registration and set the default registration role to Administrator, then create an admin account to fully compromise the site.

MitigationUpdate Royal Core plugin to version 2.9.3 or later which includes proper capability validation. Review existing user accounts for unauthorized administrator accounts and audit options for unauthorized changes.

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
Royal CoreWordPress extension
Affected:<= 2.9.2

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. Check Royal Core plugin version
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and locate 'Royal Core' by Wp Royal Themes. Note the version number displayed. Alternatively, inspect the plugin header in /wp-content/plugins/royal-core/royal-core.php for 'Version:' value.
    Affected if Version is 2.9.2 or lower (the plugin is vulnerable to this flaw)
  2. Verify user registration settings
    Navigate to WordPress admin > Settings > General > 'Membership' section. Inspect the 'Anyone can register' checkbox and the 'Default Role for New Users' dropdown.
    Affected if 'Anyone can register' is enabled and 'Default Role for New Users' is set to Administrator (this configuration indicates potential exploitation or attempted exploitation)
  3. Audit administrator accounts
    Go to WordPress admin > Users > All Users. Review the list for administrator accounts that you did not create. Note the user ID, registration date, and email address for each admin.
    Affected if Unexpected administrator accounts exist, especially those created recently or with unfamiliar email addresses
  4. Check for recent option changes
    If available, review WordPress options table (wp_options) for recent modifications to 'users_can_register', 'default_role', or addition of new user records. Check user registration dates in the database.
    Affected if Options were modified to enable registration or default role was changed to Administrator, or new admin users were added unexpectedly

User is affected if Royal Core plugin version is 2.9.2 or lower AND either user registration is enabled with Administrator as default role OR unauthorized administrator accounts exist in the system.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 2.9.2
Interim mitigation

Update Royal Core plugin to version 2.9.3 or later which includes proper capability validation. Review existing user accounts for unauthorized administrator accounts and audit options for unauthorized changes.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Any version newer than 2.9.2 (check WordPress plugin repository or ThemeForest for the latest stable release)

  1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. Locate 'Royal Core' in the plugin list
  4. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to install the latest version
  5. Alternatively, navigate to Dashboard > Updates to check for and apply any available updates
  6. After updating, verify the new version number reflects a version greater than 2.9.2
  7. Optionally, check the plugin's changelog or the ThemeForest/Wordfence pages for the specific fixed version release notes
Caveat Review plugin changelog for any breaking changes between 2.9.2 and the new version, particularly regarding theme functionality or settings

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Royal Core Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.

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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-2024-12129 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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