CVE-2025-46258: Element Pack Pro Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2025-46258 Overview

CVE-2025-46258 is a missing authorization vulnerability in the BdThemes Element Pack Pro plugin for WordPress. The flaw affects all plugin versions before 8.0.0 and stems from incorrectly configured access control security levels. An authenticated attacker with low privileges can invoke plugin functionality intended for higher-privileged users over the network. The issue is tracked under CWE-862: Missing Authorization and impacts both confidentiality and integrity at a limited scope.

Critical Impact
Authenticated low-privilege WordPress users can bypass access control checks in Element Pack Pro and interact with functionality that should require elevated permissions.

Affected Products

BdThemes Element Pack Pro (WordPress plugin) versions prior to 8.0.0
WordPress sites with Element Pack Pro installed and activated
Any hosting environment permitting low-privilege user registration on affected sites

Discovery Timeline

2025-06-05 - CVE-2025-46258 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-46258

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a broken access control issue in Element Pack Pro, a commercial Elementor add-on plugin. Plugin endpoints fail to verify that the caller holds the required WordPress capability before executing sensitive actions. Attackers exploit this by sending requests to plugin handlers while authenticated as any low-privilege role, such as Subscriber or Contributor.

Exploitation requires network access and valid authentication, but no user interaction. Successful exploitation exposes limited confidential data and permits limited modification of data managed by the plugin. Availability is not impacted, and the scope remains within the vulnerable component.

The issue has an EPSS score of 0.208%, indicating low observed exploitation likelihood in the near term. No public proof-of-concept or in-the-wild exploitation has been reported at time of publication.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing capability checks in plugin request handlers. WordPress plugins are expected to call current_user_can() or an equivalent authorization check before performing privileged operations, and to validate nonces for state-changing actions. In affected Element Pack Pro versions, one or more handlers perform work based solely on authentication rather than authorization, allowing any logged-in user to reach protected functionality.

Attack Vector

An attacker registers or compromises a low-privilege WordPress account on a site running a vulnerable Element Pack Pro version. The attacker then issues HTTP requests to the plugin's AJAX or REST endpoints that lack authorization enforcement. Because the endpoints only verify the session, the requests execute despite the attacker's role. Refer to the Patchstack Vulnerability Report for endpoint-level detail.

No verified exploitation code is available. The vulnerability class is described in prose to avoid fabricating technical artifacts.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-46258

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected admin-ajax.php or REST API requests to element-pack or bdthemes action names originating from Subscriber or Contributor accounts
Newly registered low-privilege user accounts followed by high-volume requests to plugin endpoints
Modifications to plugin-managed content or settings without a corresponding administrator session

Detection Strategies

Review WordPress access logs for POST requests to Element Pack Pro handlers where the authenticated user role lacks edit_posts or manage_options capability
Correlate plugin endpoint activity with the acting user's role using WordPress audit logging plugins or web application firewall telemetry
Alert on anomalous request rates to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with action= parameters referencing Element Pack Pro widgets

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable verbose access logging on the WordPress front-end and admin interfaces, including query strings and referrers
Forward web server and WordPress audit logs to a centralized SIEM for role-based correlation and long-term retention
Monitor for user role changes, privilege escalations, and new administrator accounts created after suspicious plugin activity

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-46258

Immediate Actions Required

Upgrade BdThemes Element Pack Pro to version 8.0.0 or later on all affected WordPress installations
Audit existing user accounts and remove or suspend low-privilege accounts that are unused or suspicious
Restrict new user registration where it is not required for business operations

Patch Information

BdThemes addressed the vulnerability in Element Pack Pro version 8.0.0. Site administrators should apply the update through the WordPress plugin manager or by replacing the plugin files with the patched release. Confirmation and change details are available in the Patchstack Vulnerability Report.

Workarounds

Deploy a web application firewall rule blocking unauthenticated or low-privilege access to Element Pack Pro AJAX and REST endpoints until patching is complete
Temporarily deactivate Element Pack Pro on sites that cannot be updated immediately
Enforce strong password policies and multi-factor authentication to reduce the risk of low-privilege account compromise

bash

# Configuration example: update Element Pack Pro via WP-CLI
wp plugin update bdthemes-element-pack --version=8.0.0
wp plugin list --name=bdthemes-element-pack --fields=name,status,version