CVE-2022-4700 in Royal Elementor Addons Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 01/10/2023
The Royal Elementor Addons plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to insufficient access control in the 'wpr_activate_required_theme' AJAX action in versions up to, and including, 1.3.59. This allows any authenticated user, including those with subscriber-level permissions, to activate the 'royal-elementor-kit' theme. If no such theme is installed doing so can also impact site availability as the site attempts to load a nonexistent theme.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/09/2026
The Royal Elementor Addons plugin for WordPress presents a critical access control vulnerability through its wpr_activate_required_theme AJAX action, affecting all versions up to and including 1.3.59. This vulnerability stems from inadequate authentication checks within the plugin's administrative interface, allowing any authenticated user to perform theme activation operations regardless of their permission level. The flaw represents a direct violation of the principle of least privilege, where users should only have access to functionality commensurate with their assigned roles. The vulnerability specifically targets the plugin's AJAX handling mechanism, which processes requests without proper authorization verification, creating an attack surface that extends beyond typical user permissions.
The technical implementation of this flaw involves the plugin's failure to validate user credentials or role membership before executing the theme activation function. When an authenticated user submits a request to the wpr_activate_required_theme endpoint, the system processes the request without verifying whether the user possesses sufficient privileges to activate themes. This oversight creates a pathway for low-privilege users to manipulate the plugin's behavior and potentially disrupt site operations. The vulnerability manifests as a privilege escalation vector, where a subscriber-level user can effectively gain administrative capabilities within the plugin's scope, particularly concerning theme management functions.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple unauthorized access, potentially leading to complete site disruption when users attempt to activate non-existent themes. If a user activates the royal-elementor-kit theme without having it installed on the server, the WordPress core attempts to load the theme files, resulting in fatal errors that can render the site inaccessible. This creates a denial of service condition that affects both the frontend and backend interfaces, as the system fails to properly handle the missing theme reference. Additionally, the vulnerability can be exploited for more sophisticated attacks such as theme-based code execution or privilege escalation within the plugin's administrative functions, depending on the broader system configuration.
Mitigation strategies should focus on immediate patching of the affected plugin version to the latest available release that addresses the access control flaw. System administrators must also implement network-level restrictions to limit access to AJAX endpoints and consider implementing additional authentication layers for administrative functions. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which describes improper access control, and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1499 for network denial of service. Organizations should conduct comprehensive security audits of their WordPress installations to identify similar vulnerabilities in other plugins and themes, as this represents a common pattern in WordPress plugin development where AJAX endpoints lack proper authorization checks. Regular monitoring of plugin updates and maintaining an inventory of all installed plugins with their current security status remains critical for preventing exploitation of such vulnerabilities.