AdforestWordPress extension · Scriptsbundle
CVE-2024-12855
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 · uneditedThe AdForest theme for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a missing capability check on several AJAX actions like 'sb_remove_ad' in all versions up to, and including, 5.1.7. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to delete posts, attachments and deactivate a license.
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 confidenceThe AdForest WordPress theme lacks capability checks on multiple AJAX endpoints (including 'sb_remove_ad'), allowing any authenticated user with Subscriber-level access or higher to perform privileged actions like deleting posts, removing attachments, and deactivating licenses. This is a classic Broken Access Control vulnerability where WordPress capability verification was not implemented before performing sensitive operations.
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
AdforestWordPress extension
< 5.1.8CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
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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Identify AdForest theme installationCheck your WordPress wp-content/themes/ directory for the 'adforest' or 'scriptbundle-adforest' theme folder, then read the style.css or functions.php file to find the theme version defined in the 'Version:' header or $theme_version variable.Affected if The AdForest theme is installed with a version number less than 5.1.8.
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Verify WordPress user roles existIn the WordPress admin dashboard, navigate to Users > All Users and review the roles assigned. Check if any users have the 'Subscriber' role or any role with lower privileges than Administrator.Affected if There are users with Subscriber-level access or higher who should not have access to delete posts or manage advertisements.
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Check for vulnerable AJAX endpoint registrationSearch the theme files (particularly functions.php, ajax.php, or similar) for the string 'sb_remove_ad' within add_action('wp_ajax_...) or add_action('wp_ajax_nopriv_...) calls to confirm the endpoint exists.Affected if The 'sb_remove_ad' AJAX action is registered without a capability check (current_user_can() is not called before the action executes).
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Inspect AJAX handler for capability verificationLocate the PHP function handling the 'sb_remove_ad' action (search for function sb_remove_ad or similar) and verify whether it includes current_user_can('delete_posts') or equivalent capability checks before performing the delete operation.Affected if The handler function does not call current_user_can() with an appropriate capability (such as 'delete_posts' or 'delete_others_posts') before executing the sensitive operation.
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Test endpoint access with low-privilege accountUsing a browser or HTTP tool authenticated as a user with only Subscriber role, submit a POST request to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action=sb_remove_ad and observe whether the request is processed or rejected.Affected if The AJAX endpoint accepts and processes requests from authenticated users with Subscriber-level permissions, returning a success response rather than a permission denied error.
Your environment is affected if the AdForest theme version is below 5.1.8 and the 'sb_remove_ad' AJAX endpoint does not verify user capabilities before allowing post deletion or other privileged actions.
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.
dbcve · scoped5.1.8
Add proper WordPress capability checks (current_user_can()) to all AJAX handlers performing sensitive operations, or update to version 5.1.8 if available. Restrict actions to users with appropriate privileges (e.g., 'delete_posts' or 'delete_others_posts').
AdForest theme version 5.1.8
- 1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard with administrator privileges.
- 2. Navigate to Appearance > Themes.
- 3. Locate the AdForest theme in the list of installed themes.
- 4. If an update is available, click on the theme and select 'Update Now' to upgrade to version 5.1.8.
- 5. Alternatively, download the AdForest theme version 5.1.8 from the original source (themeforest.net) and upload it via Appearance > Themes > Add New > Upload Theme.
- 6. Verify the update was successful by checking the theme version in the WordPress admin under Appearance > Themes.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Adforest
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-12855 — 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-2024-12855 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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- 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