CVE-2024-11936: CWE-862 Missing Authorization in MVPThemes Zox News
The Zox News theme for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data that can lead to privilege escalation due to a missing capability check on the 'backup_options' and 'restore_options' function in all versions up to, and including, 3.16.0. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to update arbitrary options on the WordPress site. This can be leveraged to update the default role for registration to administrator and enable user registration for attackers to gain administrative user access to a vulnerable site.
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
The Zox News WordPress theme contains a missing authorization vulnerability (CWE-862) in its 'backup_options' and 'restore_options' functions. This allows authenticated users with low privileges (Subscriber and above) to update arbitrary WordPress options without proper capability checks. Exploiting this, an attacker can escalate privileges by setting the default registration role to administrator and enabling user registration, thereby gaining administrative control over the site. The vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 3.16.0. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 8.8, indicating high severity with network attack vector, low attack complexity, and no user interaction required.
Potential Impact
An attacker with at least Subscriber-level access can escalate privileges to administrator by modifying critical WordPress options. This compromises site integrity, confidentiality, and availability by allowing unauthorized administrative access. The vulnerability enables attackers to create new administrator accounts via user registration, leading to full site takeover.
Mitigation Recommendations
No official patch or fix is currently available for this vulnerability. Users of the Zox News theme should monitor the vendor's advisory for updates. Until a fix is released, restrict Subscriber-level access and higher to trusted users only. Consider disabling user registration or implementing additional access controls to mitigate exploitation risk.
CVE-2024-11936: CWE-862 Missing Authorization in MVPThemes Zox News
Description
The Zox News theme for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data that can lead to privilege escalation due to a missing capability check on the 'backup_options' and 'restore_options' function in all versions up to, and including, 3.16.0. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to update arbitrary options on the WordPress site. This can be leveraged to update the default role for registration to administrator and enable user registration for attackers to gain administrative user access to a vulnerable site.
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
The Zox News WordPress theme contains a missing authorization vulnerability (CWE-862) in its 'backup_options' and 'restore_options' functions. This allows authenticated users with low privileges (Subscriber and above) to update arbitrary WordPress options without proper capability checks. Exploiting this, an attacker can escalate privileges by setting the default registration role to administrator and enabling user registration, thereby gaining administrative control over the site. The vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 3.16.0. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 8.8, indicating high severity with network attack vector, low attack complexity, and no user interaction required.
Potential Impact
An attacker with at least Subscriber-level access can escalate privileges to administrator by modifying critical WordPress options. This compromises site integrity, confidentiality, and availability by allowing unauthorized administrative access. The vulnerability enables attackers to create new administrator accounts via user registration, leading to full site takeover.
Mitigation Recommendations
No official patch or fix is currently available for this vulnerability. Users of the Zox News theme should monitor the vendor's advisory for updates. Until a fix is released, restrict Subscriber-level access and higher to trusted users only. Consider disabling user registration or implementing additional access controls to mitigate exploitation risk.
Technical Details
- Data Version
- 5.1
- Assigner Short Name
- Wordfence
- Date Reserved
- 2024-11-27T21:06:43.800Z
- Cvss Version
- 3.1
- State
- PUBLISHED
Threat ID: 699f6e27b7ef31ef0b596e02
Added to database: 2/25/2026, 9:48:23 PM
Last enriched: 4/9/2026, 12:32:12 PM
Last updated: 4/12/2026, 9:20:43 AM
Views: 24
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