CVE-2025-49406: Houzez Authorization Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2025-49406 Overview

CVE-2025-49406 is a Missing Authorization vulnerability [CWE-862] in the favethemes Houzez WordPress theme. The flaw affects Houzez versions up to and including 4.1.1. Attackers with low-privilege authenticated access can reach functionality that should be restricted by access control lists (ACLs). The vulnerability crosses a trust boundary, giving attackers a path to interact with resources outside the intended authorization scope.

Critical Impact
Authenticated attackers with minimal privileges can invoke restricted theme functionality, exposing confidential data and impacting availability across affected WordPress sites running Houzez.

Affected Products

favethemes Houzez WordPress theme, all versions through 4.1.1
WordPress sites deploying the Houzez real estate theme
Hosting environments running vulnerable Houzez installations

Discovery Timeline

2025-08-20 - CVE CVE-2025-49406 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-49406

Vulnerability Analysis

The Houzez theme exposes functionality that lacks proper authorization checks. The theme registers actions and endpoints without verifying whether the requesting user holds the required capabilities. This qualifies as a Broken Access Control weakness under [CWE-862].

The scope-changed impact indicates that exploitation affects resources beyond the vulnerable component itself. A successful attacker gains high confidentiality impact and low availability impact on affected WordPress instances. Integrity is not directly affected, but exposed functionality may leak sensitive configuration or user data.

Exploitation requires network access and low authentication privileges. No user interaction is needed, and attack complexity remains low. This combination makes the flaw practical for authenticated attackers such as subscribers or customers on real estate sites using Houzez.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing authorization enforcement on theme-provided handlers. Houzez fails to validate user capabilities or nonces before executing privileged operations. Functions that should be gated by current_user_can() checks execute for any authenticated request.

Attack Vector

An attacker authenticates to the WordPress site with any low-privilege account. The attacker then sends crafted requests to the exposed Houzez AJAX or REST handlers. Because the theme does not validate authorization, the requested action executes with elevated effective privileges, disclosing data or altering theme-managed resources. Refer to the Patchstack Houzez Theme Vulnerability advisory for technical specifics.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-49406

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected admin-ajax.php or REST API requests from low-privilege users targeting Houzez-specific action names
Access log entries showing repeated POST requests to Houzez endpoints from subscriber-level accounts
WordPress audit log entries indicating configuration or listing changes performed by non-administrative users

Detection Strategies

Inventory WordPress deployments and identify sites running Houzez 4.1.1 or earlier
Review web server access logs for anomalous request patterns targeting Houzez AJAX actions
Correlate authenticated session activity with attempts to access administrative theme functions

Monitoring Recommendations

Enable verbose logging on WordPress security plugins to capture unauthorized capability checks
Alert on spikes in admin-ajax.php traffic originating from low-privilege user sessions
Monitor changes to Houzez theme options, agent profiles, and property listings for unexpected modifications

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-49406

Immediate Actions Required

Update the Houzez theme to a version released after 4.1.1 that addresses the missing authorization flaw
Audit existing WordPress user accounts and remove or downgrade unnecessary low-privilege accounts
Review recent activity on Houzez-managed content for signs of unauthorized changes

Patch Information

Houzez versions through 4.1.1 are affected. Site administrators should apply the vendor-supplied update as referenced in the Patchstack advisory. Verify the theme version in wp-content/themes/houzez/style.css after patching.

Workarounds

Restrict registration of new low-privilege accounts until patching completes
Deploy a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block unauthenticated or subscriber-level access to Houzez AJAX actions
Temporarily disable the Houzez theme on non-production instances until validation is complete

bash

# Verify installed Houzez theme version via WP-CLI
wp theme get houzez --field=version

# Update the Houzez theme to the fixed release
wp theme update houzez

# List users with subscriber or low-privilege roles for review
wp user list --role=subscriber --fields=ID,user_login,user_registered