CVE-2025-11164 is a vulnerability classified under CWE-862 (Missing Authorization) found in the Mavix Education WordPress theme developed by Creativthemes. The issue arises from the absence of a capability check on the AJAX action 'mavix_education_activate_plugin', which is responsible for activating the Creativ Demo Importer plugin. This missing authorization allows any authenticated user with at least Subscriber-level privileges to invoke this AJAX action and activate the plugin without proper permissions. Since Subscriber-level users typically have minimal capabilities, this vulnerability escalates their ability to modify site configurations by enabling plugin activation, which is normally restricted to administrators. Although this does not directly disclose sensitive information or disrupt service availability, unauthorized plugin activation can lead to further security risks, such as introducing malicious plugins or altering site behavior. The vulnerability affects all versions of the Mavix Education theme up to and including version 1.0. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 4.3, indicating a medium severity with network attack vector, low attack complexity, requiring low privileges but no user interaction, and limited impact on integrity only. No known public exploits or patches have been reported as of the publication date, December 13, 2025. The vulnerability was reserved on September 29, 2025, and assigned by Wordfence. Organizations using this theme should be aware of this risk and take immediate action to mitigate potential exploitation.

The primary impact of CVE-2025-11164 is unauthorized modification of site data through the activation of plugins by users with minimal privileges. This can lead to privilege escalation scenarios where attackers introduce malicious plugins or alter site functionality, potentially compromising the integrity of the website. While confidentiality and availability are not directly affected, the integrity compromise can facilitate further attacks such as malware deployment, data tampering, or persistent backdoors. For organizations relying on the Mavix Education theme, this vulnerability undermines the principle of least privilege and can erode trust in the website's security posture. The scope is limited to sites using this specific theme, but given WordPress's widespread use, the potential attack surface is significant. The ease of exploitation is relatively low since it requires only authenticated access at Subscriber level or above, which may be obtained through social engineering or compromised credentials. No known exploits in the wild reduce immediate risk, but the vulnerability remains a concern until patched.

1. Immediately restrict user roles and permissions to the minimum necessary, especially limiting Subscriber-level accounts and monitoring for suspicious activity. 2. Disable or remove the Mavix Education theme if possible until a patch is released. 3. Monitor WordPress AJAX requests and plugin activation logs to detect unauthorized activations of the Creativ Demo Importer plugin. 4. Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to block unauthorized AJAX calls to 'mavix_education_activate_plugin'. 5. Educate site administrators and users on the risks of credential compromise and enforce strong authentication mechanisms such as MFA. 6. Regularly check for updates from Creativthemes and apply patches promptly once available. 7. Consider using security plugins that can enforce capability checks or restrict plugin activation to administrators only. 8. Conduct periodic security audits and penetration testing focusing on privilege escalation vectors within WordPress themes and plugins.