dbcve.org
Improper Privilege ManagementWeakness · CWE-269

CVE-2025-2238

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-04-25
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
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 Vikinger theme for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege in all versions up to, and including, 1.9.30. This is due to insufficient user_meta restrictions in the 'vikinger_user_meta_update_ajax' function. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to escalate their privileges to Administrator-level.

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 Vikinger WordPress theme versions up to 1.9.30 contain a privilege escalation vulnerability in the vikinger_user_meta_update_ajax function. Authenticated users with Subscriber-level access can manipulate their user_meta data to escalate privileges to Administrator due to missing capability checks.

MitigationUpdate the Vikinger theme to version 1.9.31 or later which contains the security fix. If no update is available, implement proper capability checks (current_user_can) and input validation in the AJAX handler to prevent unauthorized privilege escalation.

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
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. Identify Vikinger theme version
    In WordPress admin, go to Appearance > Themes and click on the Vikinger theme to view its details. Alternatively, check the style.css file in the theme directory for the Version header.
    Affected if The installed version is 1.9.30 or lower.
  2. Verify the vulnerable AJAX handler exists
    Search the theme files for the function 'vikinger_user_meta_update_ajax'. This function handles user meta updates via AJAX and is the entry point for the vulnerability.
    Affected if The function vikinger_user_meta_update_ajax exists in the theme code.
  3. Confirm AJAX endpoint registration
    Search for wp_ajax or wp_ajax_nopriv hooks registering the vulnerable function. Look for lines like 'add_action('wp_ajax_vikinger_user_meta_update_ajax', ...)' in the theme files.
    Affected if The AJAX action 'vikinger_user_meta_update_ajax' is registered and accessible to logged-in users.
  4. Check for missing capability checks
    Examine the vikinger_user_meta_update_ajax function code. Look for the absence of current_user_can() or similar capability checks before allowing user_meta modifications.
    Affected if The function allows metadata changes without verifying user capabilities, enabling Subscriber-level users to modify privileged fields.
  5. Review user role configuration
    Check if any Subscriber-level accounts exist in the WordPress users panel. The vulnerability allows users with Subscriber role to escalate privileges.
    Affected if There are users with Subscriber role (or any role below Administrator) who can access the WordPress admin area.

If the Vikinger theme version is 1.9.30 or lower and the vikinger_user_meta_update_ajax function is present without proper capability checks, the environment is vulnerable to privilege escalation.

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 the Vikinger theme to version 1.9.31 or later which contains the security fix. If no update is available, implement proper capability checks (current_user_can) and input validation in the AJAX handler to prevent unauthorized privilege escalation.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Version 1.9.31 or latest available release from the theme vendor

  1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. Navigate to Appearance > Themes
  3. Locate the Vikinger theme
  4. If an update is available, click to update to the latest version
  5. Alternatively, manually upload the updated theme files (version 1.9.31 or higher) via Appearance > Themes > Add New > Upload Theme
  6. Verify the theme version after update to confirm remediation
Caveat Standard theme update - backup customizations and test in staging if possible

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
Get help mitigating

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 locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-2238 — 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-2025-2238 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