CVE-2025-4601 is a high-severity privilege escalation vulnerability affecting the "RH - Real Estate WordPress Theme" developed by InspiryThemes, specifically in all versions up to and including 4.4.0. The root cause lies in improper privilege management (CWE-269) within the theme's inspiry_update_profile() function. This function fails to adequately restrict which user roles can be updated, allowing an authenticated attacker with subscriber-level access or higher to escalate their privileges to that of an administrator. This vulnerability does not require user interaction beyond authentication and can be exploited remotely over the network (AV:N). The vulnerability was partially addressed in version 4.4.0 and fully remediated in version 4.4.1. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 8.8, reflecting high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, with low attack complexity and no user interaction required. While no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the ease of exploitation and the critical nature of the flaw make it a significant threat to WordPress sites using this theme. Attackers gaining administrator privileges can fully compromise the affected WordPress installation, including installing backdoors, modifying content, stealing sensitive data, or pivoting to other systems within the network.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a substantial risk, especially for real estate agencies, property management firms, and other businesses using the RH - Real Estate WordPress Theme on their public-facing websites. Successful exploitation can lead to complete site takeover, resulting in data breaches involving personal client information, financial data, and internal communications. This can cause reputational damage, regulatory non-compliance (e.g., GDPR violations), and financial losses due to downtime or remediation costs. Additionally, compromised sites can be used as a launchpad for further attacks such as phishing campaigns or malware distribution targeting European users. Given the criticality of the vulnerability and the widespread use of WordPress in Europe, organizations face a heightened risk of targeted attacks, especially those with limited patch management processes or insufficient access control monitoring.

European organizations should immediately verify the version of the RH - Real Estate WordPress Theme in use and upgrade to version 4.4.1 or later where the vulnerability is fully patched. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, restrict access to the WordPress admin and profile update functionalities by implementing strict role-based access controls and IP whitelisting where possible. Employ Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious requests attempting to modify user roles. Conduct thorough audits of user accounts to identify and remove any unauthorized administrator accounts. Regularly monitor WordPress logs for unusual privilege changes or profile update activities. Additionally, organizations should enforce multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all authenticated users to reduce the risk of compromised credentials being leveraged for exploitation. Backup WordPress sites frequently and test restoration procedures to minimize downtime in case of compromise.