CVE-2025-24748: Avada WordPress Theme Auth Bypass Flaw

CVE-2025-24748 Overview

CVE-2025-24748 is a missing authorization vulnerability in the ThemeFusion Avada WordPress theme. The flaw affects all Avada versions up to and including 7.11.10. The vulnerability stems from improper access control [CWE-862], allowing unauthenticated network attackers to reach functionality that should require authorization. Successful exploitation results in limited confidentiality impact with no effect on integrity or availability.

Avada is one of the most widely deployed commercial WordPress themes, which expands the potential attack surface across many production sites. The vulnerability requires no user interaction and no privileges to exploit over the network.

Critical Impact
Unauthenticated attackers can access restricted theme functionality due to missing authorization checks, leading to information disclosure on affected WordPress sites.

Affected Products

ThemeFusion Avada WordPress theme versions up to and including 7.11.10
WordPress sites running vulnerable Avada theme builds
Hosting environments with public-facing WordPress installations using Avada

Discovery Timeline

2025-07-04 - CVE-2025-24748 published to NVD
2026-04-23 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-24748

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is classified under [CWE-862] Missing Authorization. Avada exposes one or more functions that fail to verify whether the requesting user has the appropriate capability or role before executing. An unauthenticated remote attacker can send crafted HTTP requests directly to the vulnerable endpoint and obtain data the theme should restrict to privileged users.

The impact is limited to confidentiality. The flaw does not allow data modification or service disruption, but it can leak information useful for follow-on attacks against the WordPress installation. According to EPSS data, the probability of exploitation is approximately 0.32%, placing it in the 55th percentile of scored vulnerabilities.

Root Cause

The root cause is the absence of an authorization check on a theme-handled action or AJAX route. Functions executed through WordPress hooks such as admin-ajax.php typically require explicit current_user_can() checks and a valid wp_verify_nonce() call. In vulnerable Avada builds, one or more handlers omit these checks, allowing any visitor to reach privileged logic.

Attack Vector

Exploitation is performed remotely over HTTP or HTTPS against the WordPress site. The attacker issues a direct request to the vulnerable theme endpoint without authentication. Because the action handler does not validate the caller's capabilities, the server processes the request and returns data that should be gated.

No proof-of-concept exploit code has been published. Technical analysis is available in the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-24748

Indicators of Compromise

Unauthenticated HTTP POST or GET requests to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php referencing Avada-specific action parameters
Anomalous spikes in requests targeting theme endpoints from a single source IP
Web server access logs showing successful 200 responses to theme actions from unauthenticated sessions

Detection Strategies

Inspect WordPress access logs for repeated requests to Avada AJAX actions originating outside of administrative IP ranges
Deploy web application firewall rules that flag requests to known vulnerable Avada actions without a valid authenticated session cookie
Compare the installed Avada theme version against the patched release using wp theme list via WP-CLI

Monitoring Recommendations

Forward WordPress and reverse proxy logs to a centralized logging or SIEM platform for correlation
Alert on bursts of admin-ajax.php traffic from non-admin sources
Monitor for outbound data flows immediately following theme endpoint requests, which may indicate scraping activity

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-24748

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade the Avada theme to a version later than 7.11.10 as released by ThemeFusion
Audit all installed WordPress themes and plugins for version currency
Restrict access to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php from untrusted networks where feasible using firewall or WAF rules
Review web server logs for prior exploitation attempts against vulnerable Avada endpoints

Patch Information

ThemeFusion has issued a fixed Avada release that adds the required authorization checks to the affected handlers. Administrators should apply the update through the WordPress admin dashboard or via WP-CLI. Refer to the Patchstack WordPress Vulnerability Report for the patched version reference.

Workarounds

Apply a virtual patch via a WordPress security plugin or WAF rule that blocks unauthenticated requests to the vulnerable Avada actions
Place the WordPress administrative paths behind an IP allowlist or VPN until the theme can be updated
Disable the Avada theme on non-production sites that do not require it pending the upgrade

bash

# Update Avada theme using WP-CLI
wp theme update Avada --version=latest
wp theme list --status=active