CVE-2016-11002 in Elegant Themes Extra Theme
Summary
by MITRE
The Elegant Themes Extra theme before 1.2.4 for WordPress has privilege escalation.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/26/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2016-11002 affects the Elegant Themes Extra WordPress theme version 1.2.3 and earlier, representing a critical privilege escalation flaw that allows unauthorized users to gain elevated system permissions. This issue specifically targets the theme's administrative functionality and demonstrates how third-party WordPress plugins and themes can introduce security weaknesses that compromise entire WordPress installations. The vulnerability exists within the theme's implementation of user permission controls and access validation mechanisms, creating a pathway for attackers to bypass normal authentication requirements and assume administrator privileges.
Technical exploitation of this privilege escalation vulnerability occurs through improper validation of user roles and capabilities within the theme's backend administration interface. The flaw stems from inadequate input sanitization and insufficient access control checks that allow unauthenticated or low-privilege users to execute administrative functions. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to perform actions such as modifying theme settings, uploading malicious files, creating new administrator accounts, or accessing sensitive data that should only be available to privileged users. The vulnerability specifically affects WordPress installations where the affected theme is active and properly configured, making it particularly dangerous in environments where multiple users have access to the WordPress admin interface.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond immediate privilege escalation, as it provides attackers with persistent access to compromised WordPress installations and enables further attack vectors within the broader network infrastructure. Once an attacker gains administrator-level access through this vulnerability, they can manipulate website content, install backdoors, modify user accounts, and potentially use the compromised site as a launching point for attacks on other systems within the organization. This type of vulnerability directly violates the principle of least privilege and can result in complete system compromise, data exfiltration, and service disruption. The vulnerability also demonstrates the importance of proper security testing and validation of third-party WordPress themes before deployment in production environments.
Mitigation strategies for this privilege escalation vulnerability include immediate updating of the Elegant Themes Extra theme to version 1.2.4 or later, which contains the necessary security patches to address the access control flaws. Organizations should also implement comprehensive security monitoring to detect unauthorized administrative activities and maintain up-to-date WordPress core installations with all security patches applied. Additional protective measures include restricting access to WordPress admin interfaces through IP whitelisting, implementing strong authentication controls, and conducting regular security audits of installed themes and plugins. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which addresses improper access control issues, and represents a typical example of how insufficient input validation and access control checks can lead to privilege escalation attacks that violate fundamental security principles. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this vulnerability under privilege escalation techniques, specifically targeting the use of software vulnerabilities to gain elevated system access.