dbcve.org
Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2024-12922

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-03-19
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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 Altair theme for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data that can lead to privilege escalation due to a missing capability check within functions.php in all versions up to, and including, 5.2.4. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers 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 Altair WordPress theme lacks proper capability checks in functions.php, enabling unauthenticated attackers to modify arbitrary WordPress site options. Attackers can enable user registration and set the default registration role to administrator, then create admin-level accounts to fully compromise the site.

MitigationUpdate Altair theme to version 5.2.5 or later which includes the missing capability check. If an update is unavailable, remove or replace the theme immediately.

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

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. Verify Altair theme is installed
    Check wp-content/themes/ directory for the altair folder. If the folder exists, the theme is installed.
    Affected if Altair theme folder exists in wp-content/themes/
  2. Check Altair theme version
    Open wp-content/themes/altair/style.css and look for the 'Version:' header in the comment block at the top. Compare this version to 5.2.5.
    Affected if Version is below 5.2.5 or the Version header is missing entirely
  3. Inspect functions.php for vulnerable code patterns
    Open wp-content/themes/altair/functions.php and search for code that modifies WordPress options, particularly 'users_can_register', 'default_role', or functions that handle user registration without checking user capabilities.
    Affected if Code exists that modifies registration settings without using current_user_can() or check_admin_referer() validation
  4. Check if user registration is enabled
    In WordPress admin, go to Settings > General > Membership: 'Anyone can register' checkbox. Alternatively, query the database: SELECT option_value FROM wp_options WHERE option_name = 'users_can_register';
    Affected if users_can_register option is set to 1 (true)
  5. Verify default registration role
    In WordPress admin, go to Settings > General > 'Default Role' dropdown. Alternatively, query: SELECT option_value FROM wp_options WHERE option_name = 'default_role';
    Affected if default_role is set to 'administrator' and was not intentionally set by an admin
  6. Audit administrator accounts for unauthorized users
    Query user table: SELECT * FROM wp_users WHERE ID > 1; Also check wp_usermeta for administrator role: SELECT user_id FROM wp_usermeta WHERE meta_key = 'wp_capabilities' AND meta_value LIKE '%administrator%'; Review account creation dates.
    Affected if New administrator accounts exist that were not created by known site administrators

A site is affected if the Altair theme version is below 5.2.5, the vulnerable registration-modifying code exists in functions.php, and unauthorized administrator accounts are present or user registration settings have been changed without admin action.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update Altair theme to version 5.2.5 or later which includes the missing capability check. If an update is unavailable, remove or replace the theme immediately.

Recommended fix High confidence

Altair theme version 5.2.5 or latest available version

  1. Check the current Altair theme version in WordPress admin under Appearance > Themes
  2. If the installed version is 5.2.4 or lower, update to the latest available version of the Altair theme
  3. Navigate to WordPress Dashboard > Updates and click 'Update Now' for the Altair theme, or re-download the theme from the original source and upload it
  4. After updating, verify the version number reflects the new version
  5. Confirm the vulnerability is remediated by ensuring unauthenticated users can no longer modify WordPress options (particularly the default_role and users_can_register options)
Caveat Theme updates may require re-testing of site functionality; review any customizations or child theme configurations after upgrade

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,570
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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-2024-12922 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