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ZoxpressWordPress extension · Mvpthemes

CVE-2024-13653

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-02-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2.12.1 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 ZoxPress - The All-In-One WordPress News Theme theme for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data that can lead to privilege escalation due to a missing capability check on the 'backup_options' and 'restore_options' functions in all versions up to, and including, 2.12.0. 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 ZoxPress WordPress theme versions up to 2.12.0 lacks proper capability checks on the 'backup_options' and 'restore_options' functions, allowing authenticated users with Subscriber-level permissions to execute these functions. Attackers can manipulate WordPress options directly, including changing the default user registration role to Administrator and enabling user registration, thereby escalating privileges to admin access.

MitigationUpdate the ZoxPress theme to version 2.12.1 or later where the capability checks have been added. If a patched version is unavailable, manually add proper capability checks (current_user_can('manage_options')) to both vulnerable functions.

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
ZoxpressWordPress extension
Affected:< 2.12.1

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 ZoxPress theme version
    Locate the theme's style.css file in wp-content/themes/zoxpress/ and look for the 'Version:' header in the file comments, or check theme.json if present
    Affected if The installed version is below 2.12.1 (e.g., 2.12.0, 2.11, etc.)
  2. Verify WordPress user registration is enabled
    Navigate to WordPress admin Dashboard > Settings > General and look for the 'Membership' setting 'Anyone can register', or query the site via WP-CLI: wp option get users_can_register
    Affected if The 'Anyone can register' option is set to true or enabled
  3. Check default new user role
    Navigate to WordPress admin Dashboard > Settings > General and look for 'Default Role' dropdown, or query via WP-CLI: wp option get default_role
    Affected if The default role is set to 'Administrator' or any role with elevated privileges
  4. Confirm theme is active
    Check wp-content/themes/zoxpress/ directory exists and the theme is activated in WordPress admin under Appearance > Themes, or query via WP-CLI: wp theme list --status=active
    Affected if The ZoxPress theme is currently active on the site

A site is affected if the ZoxPress theme version is below 2.12.1, the theme is active, and WordPress user registration is enabled with an elevated default role (such as Administrator).

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 2.12.1 or later
Fixed in 2.12.1
Interim mitigation

Update the ZoxPress theme to version 2.12.1 or later where the capability checks have been added. If a patched version is unavailable, manually add proper capability checks (current_user_can('manage_options')) to both vulnerable functions.

Recommended fix High confidence

ZoxPress theme version 2.12.1

  1. Create a complete backup of your WordPress site including database and files
  2. Navigate to Appearance > Themes in the WordPress admin dashboard
  3. Locate the ZoxPress theme and select update to version 2.12.1 or later
  4. Verify the theme version has been updated to 2.12.1 or higher in the themes section
  5. Confirm the update was successful and test site functionality

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

Fix this in Zoxpress 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.

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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-2024-13653 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