CVE-2025-13091: Shopire WordPress Theme Auth Bypass Flaw

CVE-2025-13091 Overview

The Shopire theme for WordPress contains an authorization bypass vulnerability due to a missing capability check on the shopire_admin_install_plugin() function. This security flaw affects all versions up to and including 1.0.57, allowing authenticated attackers with Subscriber-level access or higher to install the 'fable-extra' plugin without proper authorization.

Critical Impact

Authenticated users with minimal privileges can install unauthorized plugins, potentially compromising site integrity and introducing malicious functionality.

Affected Products

• Shopire WordPress Theme versions up to and including 1.0.57
• WordPress installations running the vulnerable Shopire theme
• Sites with user registration enabled (Subscriber-level access required)

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-02-19 - CVE CVE-2025-13091 published to NVD
• 2026-02-19 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-13091

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability falls under CWE-15 (External Control of System or Configuration Setting), which occurs when an application allows external parties to control system-level settings or configurations without proper authorization. In this case, the shopire_admin_install_plugin() function fails to verify whether the calling user has sufficient privileges to perform plugin installation operations.

WordPress employs a role-based access control system where capability checks should be enforced on administrative functions. The absence of such a check on this function means that any authenticated user—including those with only Subscriber privileges—can invoke the plugin installation functionality that should be restricted to administrators.

The vulnerability is exploitable over the network and requires low privilege authentication (Subscriber-level), but the impact is limited to unauthorized data modification rather than full system compromise. The attack can be executed without user interaction.

Root Cause

The root cause is the missing capability check in the shopire_admin_install_plugin() function located in the theme's administrative code. WordPress themes and plugins should use functions like current_user_can() to verify that the current user has the required capability (such as install_plugins or manage_options) before executing privileged operations.

The vulnerable function can be found in the theme files at inc/admin/getting-started.php and the associated JavaScript at inc/admin/assets/js/shopire-admin-script.js. Without proper capability verification, the function blindly processes requests from any authenticated user.

Attack Vector

An attacker would need to:

1. Obtain authenticated access to the WordPress site with at least Subscriber-level privileges
2. Identify the AJAX endpoint or function call that triggers shopire_admin_install_plugin()
3. Send a crafted request to install the 'fable-extra' plugin
4. The plugin installation proceeds without authorization verification

The attack requires network access to the target WordPress site and valid user credentials with minimal privileges. The attacker cannot gain confidentiality breaches through this vulnerability alone, but unauthorized plugin installation can serve as a stepping stone for further attacks or site defacement.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-13091

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected installation of the 'fable-extra' plugin without administrator action
• WordPress audit logs showing plugin installations initiated by Subscriber-level users
• AJAX requests to theme endpoints from low-privileged user sessions
• Unusual activity patterns from registered user accounts

Detection Strategies

• Review WordPress database for unexpected plugin installations and correlate with user privilege levels
• Monitor web server access logs for POST requests to Shopire theme administrative endpoints
• Implement file integrity monitoring on the wp-content/plugins/ directory
• Configure WordPress security plugins to alert on plugin installation events

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive audit logging for all WordPress administrative actions
• Deploy web application firewall rules to detect unauthorized AJAX calls to theme functions
• Regularly review the installed plugins list and compare against authorized baseline
• Monitor for privilege escalation patterns where low-privilege users perform administrative functions

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-13091

Immediate Actions Required

• Update the Shopire theme to a version newer than 1.0.57 that includes the security fix
• Review WordPress user accounts and remove unnecessary Subscriber-level access
• Audit installed plugins for any unauthorized additions, particularly 'fable-extra'
• Consider temporarily switching to an alternative theme if an update is not yet available

Patch Information

The vulnerability has been addressed in WordPress Trac Changeset #304732. Site administrators should update the Shopire theme through the WordPress dashboard or by manually applying the patched version. For additional technical details, refer to the Wordfence Vulnerability Report.

Workarounds

• Restrict user registration to prevent unauthorized Subscriber account creation
• Implement additional access control at the web server level to block direct access to theme admin endpoints
• Use a WordPress security plugin to enforce additional capability checks on AJAX handlers
• Remove or rename the vulnerable function files if the theme's plugin installation feature is not required

# Configuration example - Restrict access to theme admin files via .htaccess
# Add to WordPress root .htaccess file
<FilesMatch "getting-started\.php|shopire-admin-script\.js">
    Order deny,allow
    Deny from all
    Allow from 127.0.0.1
</FilesMatch>