dbcve.org
Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2025-31881

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-04-01
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
60/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Missing Authorization vulnerability in Stylemix Pearl pearl-header-builder allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels.This issue affects Pearl: from n/a through <= 1.3.9.

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 · moderate confidence

The pearl-header-builder plugin in Stylemix Pearl theme versions through 1.3.9 lacks proper authorization checks, allowing unauthenticated or low-privilege users to access administrative functions or modify header configurations due to incorrectly configured access control security levels.

MitigationUpdate Pearl theme to the latest version which includes proper authorization checks and capability verification for header builder functions.

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
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 checks

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

  1. Confirm Pearl theme installation
    Check wp-content/themes/ directory for 'pearl' or 'pearl-theme' folder, or inspect theme header in WordPress admin under Appearance > Themes
    Affected if Pearl theme by Stylemix is installed
  2. Identify installed theme version
    Open style.css in the theme folder and locate the Version: tag in the theme header comment, or check in WordPress admin theme details
    Affected if Version is 1.3.9 or lower
  3. Check if header builder component is active
    Look for 'pearl-header-builder' folder in wp-content/plugins/ or wp-content/themes/pearl/includes/, or check WordPress admin for 'Header Builder' menu item under Pearl theme options
    Affected if pearl-header-builder component exists and is accessible in the admin panel
  4. Verify access control configuration
    Inspect theme options panel, specifically the pearl-header-builder security settings or capability requirements. Check if non-admin users can access /wp-admin/admin.php?page=pearl_header_builder or similar endpoints
    Affected if Users with Subscriber, Contributor, or Editor roles can access header builder functions without administrator privileges
  5. Test header builder endpoint accessibility
    Attempt to access the header builder AJAX endpoints or admin pages while logged in as a low-privilege user (Subscriber role). Check HTTP response status and whether configuration options are visible/editable
    Affected if Low-privilege authenticated users receive HTTP 200 and can view or modify header configurations

You are affected if the Pearl theme version is 1.3.9 or lower AND the pearl-header-builder component is active and accessible to users without administrator-level capabilities.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update Pearl theme to the latest version which includes proper authorization checks and capability verification for header builder functions.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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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-2025-31881 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