CVE-2025-53348
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 · uneditedMissing Authorization vulnerability in Laborator Kalium kalium allows Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security Levels.This issue affects Kalium: from n/a through <= 3.18.3.
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 · low confidenceMissing authorization vulnerability in Laborator Kalium WordPress theme allows attackers to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels. The vulnerability stems from improper access control configuration within the theme that enables unauthorized access to protected functionality or resources.
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
- None
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Kalium theme is installedNavigate to wp-content/themes/ directory or check via WordPress admin Appearance > Themes. Look for a folder named 'kalium' or 'Laborator Kalium'.Affected if The Kalium theme by Laborator is installed and active on the WordPress site.
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Identify the installed Kalium theme versionOpen wp-content/themes/kalium/style.css and read the 'Version:' header in the file comments, or check the theme version displayed in WordPress admin under Appearance > Themes > Kalium theme details.Affected if The installed version matches or falls within an affected version range (if known).
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Review theme access control security settingsIn WordPress admin, go to Kalium theme options (usually under Laborator > Theme Options or Kalium > Options). Look for security-related settings such as 'Access Control', 'Security Levels', 'User Permissions', or 'Authorization' settings.Affected if Access control security levels are set to a permissive or misconfigured state that allows unauthorized access to protected functionality.
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Inspect AJAX endpoints for authorization gapsCheck wp-content/themes/kalium/functions.php and any included files for AJAX action handlers (wp_ajax_ and wp_ajax_nopriv_). Look for sensitive operations that lack current_user_can() checks or proper capability verification.Affected if AJAX or admin-ajax.php endpoints handle sensitive operations without proper authorization checks.
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Check for exposed admin functionalityReview theme files in wp-content/themes/kalium/ for PHP files that handle administrative functions, database operations, or file uploads. Attempt to access these files directly via browser or check if they require authentication.Affected if Protected theme functionality or resources are accessible without authentication or proper capability checks.
A defender is affected if the Kalium theme is installed and its access control security levels are configured in a permissive or misconfigured manner that allows unauthorized access to protected functionality.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataReview and properly configure access control security levels in Kalium theme settings to ensure proper authorization checks are enforced on all sensitive operations. Update to the latest version if available.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-53348 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-53348 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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