CVE-2025-1681 is a vulnerability identified in the ThemeMakers Car Dealer Automotive WordPress Theme – Responsive, specifically in versions up to 1.6.4. The root cause is a missing authorization check (CWE-862) combined with inadequate filename sanitization in the AJAX functions responsible for handling the demo theme scheme. This flaw allows any authenticated user with subscriber-level privileges or higher to bypass intended access controls and perform unauthorized modifications or deletions of arbitrary CSS and JavaScript files within the theme. Since CSS and JS files control the appearance and client-side behavior of the website, unauthorized changes can lead to defacement, broken site functionality, or the injection of malicious scripts that could facilitate further attacks such as cross-site scripting (XSS) or drive-by downloads. The vulnerability is remotely exploitable over the network (AV:N) with low attack complexity (AC:L), requiring only privileges of a low-level authenticated user (PR:L) and no user interaction (UI:N). The scope is unchanged (S:U), meaning the impact is limited to the vulnerable component. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.4, reflecting a medium severity primarily due to the impact on integrity and availability, but no direct confidentiality loss. No patches or official fixes are currently linked, and no known exploits have been reported in the wild. The vulnerability highlights the importance of enforcing strict authorization checks and input validation in WordPress themes, especially those that allow user interaction via AJAX endpoints. Organizations using this theme should monitor for updates from ThemeMakers and consider temporary mitigations such as restricting subscriber-level access or disabling vulnerable AJAX endpoints until a patch is available.

The vulnerability allows authenticated users with low-level privileges to modify or delete arbitrary CSS and JavaScript files, which can severely impact the integrity and availability of affected websites. Potential impacts include website defacement, loss of intended site functionality, and the introduction of malicious client-side code that could be used to compromise site visitors or escalate attacks. For organizations relying on the Car Dealer Automotive WordPress Theme, this could lead to reputational damage, loss of customer trust, and potential downtime. Since the vulnerability requires authenticated access, the risk is somewhat mitigated by the need for user credentials, but subscriber-level access is commonly granted to many users, increasing the attack surface. The absence of confidentiality impact reduces the risk of data breaches directly from this vulnerability, but indirect effects such as phishing or malware distribution remain possible. The lack of known exploits in the wild suggests limited current exploitation but does not preclude future attacks once exploit code becomes available.

1. Immediately restrict subscriber-level and higher user permissions to only trusted individuals until a patch is available. 2. Disable or restrict access to the vulnerable AJAX endpoints handling the demo theme scheme if possible, using web application firewall (WAF) rules or server-level access controls. 3. Monitor file integrity of CSS and JavaScript files within the theme directory using file integrity monitoring tools to detect unauthorized changes promptly. 4. Implement strict input validation and sanitization on all AJAX endpoints, especially those that accept filenames or file paths, to prevent manipulation. 5. Regularly update the WordPress theme to the latest version once ThemeMakers releases a patch addressing this vulnerability. 6. Conduct periodic audits of user roles and permissions to minimize the number of users with subscriber-level or higher access. 7. Employ security plugins that can detect and block suspicious file modifications or unauthorized access attempts. 8. Educate site administrators and users about the risks of unauthorized file modifications and encourage strong password policies to reduce the risk of credential compromise.