dbcve.org
Missing AuthorizationWeakness · CWE-862

CVE-2025-8999

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-09-17
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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 Sydney theme for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a missing capability check on the 'activate_modules' function in all versions up to, and including, 2.56. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to activate or deactivate various theme modules.

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 Sydney WordPress theme lacks authorization checks on the activate_modules function, allowing any authenticated user with Subscriber-level permissions or higher to activate or deactivate theme modules. This is a broken access control vulnerability where the theme fails to verify user capabilities before allowing modifications to theme settings.

MitigationUpdate the Sydney theme to version 2.57 or later, which includes proper capability checks on the activate_modules function. Until updated, restrict user registrations or audit existing subscriber-level accounts.

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 checks

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

  1. Identify if Sydney theme is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Appearance > Themes to see installed themes. Alternatively, check for the /wp-content/themes/sydney/ directory on the server.
    Affected if Sydney theme is present in the WordPress installation
  2. Determine the installed Sydney theme version
    In WordPress admin, click on the Sydney theme to view its details (version number is displayed). Alternatively, check the style.css file in the theme directory for the 'Version' header.
    Affected if Version is below 2.57 (the patched version)
  3. Audit user accounts with Subscriber-level permissions or higher
    In WordPress admin, go to Users > All Users to list accounts. Check the 'Role' column for any users with Subscriber, Contributor, Author, Editor, or Administrator roles.
    Affected if Any user account exists with Subscriber role or higher (these users can exploit the vulnerability)
  4. Verify if the activate_modules function lacks capability checks
    If you have access to the theme source code, examine the activate_modules function in the theme files (typically in inc/ or includes/ directories). Look for a capability check like 'current_user_can' before allowing module activation/deactivation.
    Affected if The activate_modules function does not verify user capabilities (no current_user_can check present)

You are affected if the Sydney theme version is below 2.57 AND your site has at least one user account with Subscriber-level permissions or higher, allowing authenticated users to modify theme modules without proper authorization.

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 Sydney theme to version 2.57 or later, which includes proper capability checks on the activate_modules function. Until updated, restrict user registrations or audit existing subscriber-level accounts.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Sydney theme version 2.57

  1. Update the Sydney theme for WordPress to version 2.57 or later
  2. After updating, verify the theme version in Appearance > Themes to confirm the update was applied
  3. Test that the theme modules can still be activated and deactivated normally by authorized administrators

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

Have this fixed 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 help mitigating

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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2025-8999 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