dbcve.org
AdforestWordPress extension · Scriptsbundle

CVE-2024-12857

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-01-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.1.9 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges 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 AdForest theme for WordPress is vulnerable to authentication bypass in all versions up to, and including, 5.1.8. This is due to the plugin not properly verifying a user's identity prior to logging them in as that user. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to authenticate as any user as long as they have configured OTP login by phone number.

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 AdForest WordPress theme fails to properly verify user identity before granting authentication, allowing unauthenticated attackers to authenticate as any user who has OTP login by phone number configured. This authentication bypass affects all versions up to 5.1.8.

MitigationUpdate AdForest theme to version 5.1.9 or later. Until the update can be applied, disable OTP login by phone number functionality if possible, as the vulnerability is only exploitable when this feature is enabled.

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
Affected:< 5.1.9

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify AdForest theme version
    In WordPress admin, go to Appearance > Themes and locate AdForest. The currently active theme version is displayed there. Alternatively, check the style.css file in the theme folder for the 'Version:' header.
    Affected if The installed version is below 5.1.9 (e.g., 5.1.8, 5.1.7, etc.)
  2. Confirm OTP login feature is enabled
    Navigate to Theme Settings > Login/Register Settings in the WordPress admin panel. Look for options related to 'Phone Login' or 'OTP Login' and verify whether this feature is turned on.
    Affected if OTP login-by-phone-number is enabled in the theme settings
  3. Check for the authentication endpoint
    Inspect your site's login pages and any custom login forms that use phone/OTP authentication. Look for the endpoint handling OTP verification (commonly related to 'otp', 'phone', or 'login' in the theme's PHP files).
    Affected if A phone/OTP login endpoint exists and is publicly accessible
  4. Verify user accounts with phone numbers
    Review user profiles in WordPress admin (Users > All Users). Check if any user accounts have phone numbers assigned to them, as these accounts would be targetable if OTP login is enabled.
    Affected if There are user accounts with phone numbers linked and OTP login is active

You are affected if AdForest theme version is below 5.1.9 AND the OTP phone login feature is enabled for any user account.

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 5.1.9 or later
Fixed in 5.1.9
Interim mitigation

Update AdForest theme to version 5.1.9 or later. Until the update can be applied, disable OTP login by phone number functionality if possible, as the vulnerability is only exploitable when this feature is enabled.

Recommended fix High confidence

AdForest theme version 5.1.9

  1. 1. Create a full backup of your WordPress site (database and files) before making any changes
  2. 2. Obtain the AdForest theme version 5.1.9 from the original source (themeforest.net) or your ThemeForest account
  3. 3. Navigate to your WordPress admin dashboard > Appearance > Themes
  4. 4. Deactivate the current AdForest theme
  5. 5. Delete the current AdForest theme (or install the new version which will overwrite)
  6. 6. Upload and install AdForest version 5.1.9
  7. 7. Reactivate the AdForest theme
  8. 8. Verify that the theme is functioning correctly and test that user authentication works properly

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

Fix this in Adforest Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,696.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-12857 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2024-12857 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