CVE-2025-5394 is a critical security vulnerability affecting the Alone – Charity Multipurpose Non-profit WordPress Theme developed by Bearsthemes. The vulnerability arises from a missing authorization check in the function alone_import_pack_install_plugin(), which is responsible for installing plugins via uploaded zip files. Due to the absence of a capability check, unauthenticated attackers can exploit this flaw to upload arbitrary zip files containing malicious webshells disguised as plugins. This leads to remote code execution (RCE) on the affected WordPress site without requiring any authentication or user interaction. The vulnerability affects all versions of the theme up to and including version 7.8.3. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 9.8, indicating a critical severity level, with an attack vector that is network-based, no privileges required, no user interaction needed, and impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability fully. Although no public exploits have been reported in the wild yet, the nature of the vulnerability makes it highly exploitable and dangerous. The flaw is classified under CWE-862 (Missing Authorization), highlighting the failure to verify user permissions before allowing sensitive operations such as plugin installation. This vulnerability can lead to complete compromise of the WordPress hosting environment, enabling attackers to execute arbitrary commands, deploy backdoors, steal sensitive data, or pivot to other network assets.

For European organizations using the Alone WordPress theme, this vulnerability poses a severe risk. Many non-profit and charity organizations in Europe rely on WordPress themes like Alone for their websites, which often contain sensitive donor information, financial data, and organizational communications. Exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to confidential data, defacement of websites, disruption of services, and potential use of compromised servers as launchpads for further attacks. Given the criticality and ease of exploitation, attackers could rapidly compromise multiple sites, causing reputational damage and legal consequences under GDPR due to data breaches. Additionally, since the vulnerability does not require authentication, automated mass scanning and exploitation campaigns could target European charity and non-profit sectors, which may have limited cybersecurity resources. The impact extends beyond individual organizations to the broader trust ecosystem supporting charitable activities in Europe.

1. Immediate update or patching: Organizations should upgrade the Alone theme to a version where this vulnerability is fixed once available. Since no patch links are currently provided, monitoring Bearsthemes’ official channels for updates is critical. 2. Temporary mitigation: Until a patch is released, disable or restrict access to the plugin installation functionality within the theme or WordPress admin. 3. Web application firewall (WAF): Deploy a WAF with custom rules to detect and block attempts to upload zip files or access the vulnerable function endpoint. 4. File integrity monitoring: Implement monitoring to detect unauthorized file uploads or changes within the WordPress plugin directories. 5. Access controls: Limit administrative access to trusted users only and enforce strong authentication mechanisms. 6. Network segmentation: Isolate WordPress servers from critical internal networks to reduce lateral movement risk. 7. Incident response readiness: Prepare to detect and respond to signs of exploitation, including webshell detection and unusual outbound connections. 8. Backup and recovery: Maintain up-to-date backups of website data and configurations to enable rapid restoration if compromise occurs.