What the vulnerability does
01Description
The Zox News - Professional WordPress News & Magazine Theme plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized data modification. This vulnerability can lead to privilege escalation and denial of service conditions due to missing capability checks on the backup_options() and reset_options() functions in all versions up to and including 3.17.0. This vulnerability allows authenticated attackers with Subscriber-level access and above to update and delete arbitrary option values on the WordPress site. Attackers can exploit this issue to update the default user role for registration to Administrator and enable user registration, thereby gaining administrative access to the vulnerable site. Additionally, they could delete critical options, causing errors that may disrupt the site's functionality and deny service to legitimate users.
Explanation of Vulnerability in Simple Terms
02Summary
The Zox News WordPress theme through version 3.17.0 lacks proper authorization checks, allowing authenticated users with low privileges to read sensitive data, modify site content, or disrupt service. An attacker with a basic user account can perform actions restricted to administrators without additional verification. This affects all installations of the theme up to and including version 3.17.0.
What an attacker can do
03Attacker Capabilities
Read sensitive data, modify content, or disrupt the site using a low-privilege user account.
Potential impact on your site
04Site Impact
Any registered user can access admin functions and modify or delete site content without authorization.
Conditions required to exploit
05Prerequisites
Attacker needs a valid low-privilege WordPress user account; no special user interaction required.
Key dates
06Disclosure timeline
February 11, 2025
CVE published
April 8, 2026
Record updated
