Skip to main content

CVE-2025-4797: CWE-288 Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel in uxper Golo - City Travel Guide WordPress Theme

Critical
VulnerabilityCVE-2025-4797cvecve-2025-4797cwe-288
Published: Tue Jun 03 2025 (06/03/2025, 04:22:16 UTC)
Source: CVE Database V5
Vendor/Project: uxper
Product: Golo - City Travel Guide WordPress Theme

Description

The Golo - City Travel Guide WordPress Theme theme for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation via account takeover in all versions up to, and including, 1.7.0. This is due to the plugin not properly validating a user's identity prior to setting an authorization cookie. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to log in as any user, including administrators, provided they know the user's email address.

AI-Powered Analysis

AILast updated: 07/11/2025, 07:02:26 UTC

Technical Analysis

CVE-2025-4797 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability identified in the Golo - City Travel Guide WordPress Theme developed by uxper. This vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 1.7.0. The root cause lies in improper validation of user identity before setting an authorization cookie. Specifically, the theme fails to verify that the user requesting authentication is legitimate, allowing an unauthenticated attacker to impersonate any user, including administrators, if they know the target user's email address. This constitutes a privilege escalation via account takeover, enabling attackers to gain full control over affected WordPress sites using this theme. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-288 (Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel), indicating that the authentication mechanism can be circumvented through an alternate method. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 9.8 (critical), reflecting the vulnerability's ease of exploitation (network attack vector, no privileges or user interaction required) and its severe impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Although no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the simplicity of exploitation and the critical impact make this a high-risk issue. The absence of available patches at the time of reporting further exacerbates the threat. Attackers can leverage this flaw to fully compromise websites, potentially leading to data theft, defacement, malware distribution, or pivoting to internal networks.

Potential Impact

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk, especially for businesses and public sector entities using WordPress sites with the Golo theme for tourism, city guides, or related services. Successful exploitation can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data, including user information and administrative controls, resulting in data breaches and loss of trust. The ability to escalate privileges to administrator level can allow attackers to manipulate website content, inject malicious code, or disrupt services, impacting availability and integrity. This can have reputational damage and legal consequences under GDPR due to potential personal data exposure. Additionally, compromised sites can be used as launchpads for further attacks within organizational networks or to distribute malware to visitors, amplifying the threat. The critical severity and ease of exploitation mean that even less sophisticated attackers could exploit this vulnerability, increasing the likelihood of attacks against European organizations reliant on this theme.

Mitigation Recommendations

Immediate mitigation steps include: 1) Identifying all WordPress installations using the Golo - City Travel Guide theme and verifying their version. 2) Temporarily disabling the theme or switching to a default WordPress theme until a patch is available. 3) Implementing web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block suspicious requests attempting to set authorization cookies without proper authentication. 4) Monitoring logs for unusual login activities or access patterns, especially attempts to authenticate using known email addresses without valid credentials. 5) Enforcing multi-factor authentication (MFA) on WordPress admin accounts to add an additional security layer, reducing the impact of compromised credentials. 6) Regularly updating WordPress core, themes, and plugins once the vendor releases a security patch addressing this vulnerability. 7) Educating site administrators about the risk and encouraging immediate action to mitigate exposure. 8) Conducting a post-incident review if compromise is suspected, including password resets and forensic analysis. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on theme-specific identification, temporary theme deactivation, and proactive monitoring tailored to this vulnerability's exploitation method.

Need more detailed analysis?Get Pro

Technical Details

Data Version
5.1
Assigner Short Name
Wordfence
Date Reserved
2025-05-15T18:22:15.692Z
Cvss Version
3.1
State
PUBLISHED

Threat ID: 683ee1eb182aa0cae2739655

Added to database: 6/3/2025, 11:52:11 AM

Last enriched: 7/11/2025, 7:02:26 AM

Last updated: 8/4/2025, 4:26:48 AM

Views: 64

Actions

PRO

Updates to AI analysis are available only with a Pro account. Contact root@offseq.com for access.

Please log in to the Console to use AI analysis features.

Need enhanced features?

Contact root@offseq.com for Pro access with improved analysis and higher rate limits.

Latest Threats