CVE-2025-10850 is a critical security vulnerability identified in the RiceTheme Felan Framework WordPress plugin, affecting all versions up to and including 1.1.4. The root cause is the presence of hardcoded passwords within the 'fb_ajax_login_or_register' and 'google_ajax_login_or_register' functions, which handle Facebook and Google social login processes respectively. This improper authentication mechanism (classified under CWE-798) allows unauthenticated attackers to exploit these hardcoded credentials to log in as any existing user who registered via social login and did not subsequently change their password. The vulnerability does not require any user interaction or prior authentication, making it trivially exploitable remotely over the network. Successful exploitation compromises user confidentiality by exposing account access, integrity by allowing unauthorized actions under the victim's identity, and availability by potentially locking out legitimate users or disrupting services. The CVSS v3.1 score of 9.8 reflects the critical nature of this flaw, with an attack vector of network (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), no user interaction (UI:N), and full impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H). No official patches or fixes have been released as of the publication date, and no known exploits have been reported in the wild, though the vulnerability's characteristics suggest imminent exploitation risk. The Felan Framework is used primarily in WordPress environments that leverage social login capabilities, common in e-commerce, membership, and community sites. The presence of hardcoded credentials is a severe security anti-pattern that undermines authentication controls and exposes users to account takeover attacks.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant threat to user account security and overall site integrity. Organizations relying on the Felan Framework plugin with social login enabled risk unauthorized access to user accounts, potentially leading to data breaches involving personal information, financial data, or intellectual property. The ability for attackers to impersonate legitimate users can facilitate fraudulent transactions, privilege escalation, and lateral movement within networks. This can result in reputational damage, regulatory penalties under GDPR due to compromised personal data, and operational disruptions. Public sector websites, e-commerce platforms, and membership-based services are particularly vulnerable due to their reliance on social login for user convenience. The critical severity and ease of exploitation mean attackers can rapidly compromise multiple accounts without detection. Additionally, the lack of available patches increases the window of exposure, necessitating immediate mitigation efforts. The impact extends beyond individual sites to potentially affect interconnected systems and services that trust user identities authenticated via this plugin.

Immediate mitigation steps include disabling the Felan Framework plugin or at least the social login features ('fb_ajax_login_or_register' and 'google_ajax_login_or_register' functions) until a secure patch is released. Organizations should enforce mandatory password resets for all users who registered via Facebook or Google social login to invalidate any compromised credentials. Implement enhanced monitoring and alerting for unusual login patterns, such as multiple failed attempts or logins from unexpected IP addresses. Employ Web Application Firewalls (WAF) to detect and block exploitation attempts targeting the vulnerable functions. Review and audit all plugins and custom code for hardcoded credentials or insecure authentication mechanisms to prevent similar issues. Where possible, isolate affected WordPress instances from critical internal networks to limit lateral movement. Engage with RiceTheme or trusted security vendors for updates or temporary patches. Educate users about the risk and encourage them to enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) if supported by the platform to add an additional security layer. Finally, prepare incident response plans to quickly address any detected compromises.