CVE-2025-39353 Overview
CVE-2025-39353 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability in the ThemeGoods Grand Restaurant WordPress theme. The flaw affects all versions of grandrestaurant up to and including 7.0. Attackers can exploit incorrectly configured access control checks to reach functionality that should require authorization. The issue is categorized under [CWE-862] (Missing Authorization) and impacts the integrity of affected WordPress sites over the network without authentication or user interaction.
Critical Impact
Unauthenticated remote attackers can invoke theme functions that lack proper permission checks, resulting in limited integrity impact on WordPress sites running Grand Restaurant <= 7.0.
Affected Products
- ThemeGoods Grand Restaurant WordPress theme, versions up to and including 7.0
- WordPress installations using the grandrestaurant theme
- Sites relying on Grand Restaurant theme functionality without upstream patches applied
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-05-19 - CVE-2025-39353 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-39353
Vulnerability Analysis
The Grand Restaurant theme exposes one or more actions that fail to validate the caller's authorization level. WordPress themes commonly register AJAX handlers, admin-post endpoints, or REST routes that must verify capabilities and nonces before executing privileged operations. In this theme, at least one such handler executes without confirming the requester has the required role or capability.
An unauthenticated attacker can send crafted HTTP requests directly to the vulnerable endpoint. Because no authentication material is required, exploitation is possible against any internet-facing site running the vulnerable version. The impact is limited to integrity, meaning the attacker can modify some state or trigger some action but cannot directly read sensitive data or take the site offline through this flaw alone.
Root Cause
The root cause is missing authorization logic in one or more theme-side request handlers. The code path does not call WordPress capability checks such as current_user_can() or verify nonces with check_ajax_referer() before performing state-changing operations. This aligns with [CWE-862], where security-relevant functionality is reachable without the required permission gate.
Attack Vector
Exploitation occurs over the network against the target WordPress site. An attacker issues an HTTP POST or GET request to the vulnerable theme endpoint, typically wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with the theme's action parameter, or a similar admin-post handler. No credentials, session, or user interaction are needed. Refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for technical details on the affected action.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-39353
Indicators of Compromise
- Unauthenticated POST or GET requests to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php referencing Grand Restaurant theme actions
- Unexpected changes to theme options, posts, or site configuration without a corresponding administrator login event
- Anomalous requests originating from a single IP targeting theme-specific action names
Detection Strategies
- Inspect WordPress access logs for requests to theme-related endpoints from unauthenticated sessions
- Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to flag requests to admin-ajax.php that lack a valid wp_nonce and target Grand Restaurant actions
- Compare current theme configuration and content against known-good baselines to detect unauthorized modifications
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable WordPress audit logging to capture option changes, post updates, and administrative actions with source IP attribution
- Alert on spikes in admin-ajax.php traffic from non-authenticated clients
- Monitor file integrity for the wp-content/themes/grandrestaurant/ directory
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-39353
Immediate Actions Required
- Identify all WordPress sites running the Grand Restaurant theme and confirm installed version via wp-content/themes/grandrestaurant/style.css
- Apply the vendor-supplied theme update as soon as a fixed release beyond 7.0 becomes available
- Restrict access to wp-admin/admin-ajax.php from untrusted networks where feasible, or place the site behind a WAF
Patch Information
At time of publication, the Patchstack Vulnerability Report lists all versions through 7.0 as affected. Site administrators should monitor the ThemeGoods vendor channel for a patched release and apply it immediately upon availability.
Workarounds
- Temporarily deactivate the Grand Restaurant theme and switch to a maintained alternative until a fix is released
- Add virtual patching rules at the WAF layer to block requests matching the vulnerable theme action names
- Enforce IP allow-listing for wp-admin/ and admin-ajax.php where operationally feasible
# Configuration example: identify installed Grand Restaurant version
grep -i "Version" wp-content/themes/grandrestaurant/style.css
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
