CVE-2025-12981
Privilege Escalation in Listee WordPress Theme via User Role Manipulation
Publication date: 2026-02-27
Last updated on: 2026-02-27
Assigner: Wordfence
Description
Description
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
| Probability: | |
| Percentile: |
Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| listee | theme | to 1.1.6 (inc) |
| listee-core | plugin | to 1.1.6 (inc) |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-269 | The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor. |
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?
The Listee theme for WordPress contains a vulnerability in all versions up to and including 1.1.6. This vulnerability arises from a broken validation check in the bundled listee-core plugin's user registration function. Specifically, the function fails to properly sanitize the user_role parameter, which allows unauthenticated attackers to manipulate this parameter during registration.
As a result, attackers can register themselves as Administrators without any authentication, effectively escalating their privileges on the affected WordPress site.
How can this vulnerability impact me? :
This vulnerability can have severe impacts because it allows unauthenticated attackers to gain Administrator access to a WordPress site using the Listee theme (up to version 1.1.6).
- Attackers can fully control the website, including modifying content, installing malicious plugins or themes, and accessing sensitive data.
- It can lead to data breaches, defacement, or the site being used as a platform for further attacks.
- The high CVSS score of 9.8 indicates a critical severity with high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
How does this vulnerability affect compliance with common standards and regulations (like GDPR, HIPAA)?:
I don't know
How can this vulnerability be detected on my network or system? Can you suggest some commands?
I don't know
What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?
I don't know