WordPress Plugin Flaw Puts 22,000 Websites at Risk of Cyber Attacks

A severe security flaw has been uncovered in the Motors WordPress theme, a popular choice for car dealerships and listings with over 22,000 sales on ThemeForest.

Researcher Foxyyy reported a critical Privilege Escalation vulnerability through the Wordfence Bug Bounty Program, earning a $1,073 bounty for their detailed and reproducible submission.

This vulnerability, rated 9.8 (Critical) on the CVSS scale and assigned CVE-2025-4322, affects versions up to and including 5.6.67.

It allows unauthenticated attackers to reset the password of any user, including administrators, thereby gaining full control over affected websites.

Given the widespread use of the theme, this flaw poses a significant threat to thousands of sites, potentially enabling attackers to upload malicious files, inject spam, or redirect users to harmful destinations.

Critical Vulnerability Discovered in Motors Theme

The root of this vulnerability lies in the Motors theme’s Login Register widget, specifically within the password-recovery.php template.

The code fails to adequately validate user identity before processing password updates.

Technical analysis reveals that the template checks for a user ID and a hash via GET parameters, but due to improper sanitization, attackers can bypass these checks using invalid UTF-8 characters in the hash_check parameter.

This exploit leverages the esc_attr() function’s behavior, which strips invalid characters post-validation, allowing the hash comparison to succeed even without a legitimate password reset request.

As a result, attackers can reset passwords for any user, including those with administrative privileges, leading to complete site compromise.

Technical Breakdown and Patch Rollout

Wordfence responded swiftly by deploying a firewall rule for Premium, Care, and Response users on May 6, 2025, with free users receiving the same protection on June 5, 2025.

Meanwhile, the StylemixThemes team was notified on May 5, acknowledged the issue on May 8, and released a patch in version 5.6.68 on May 14, 2025, earning praise for their timely action.

Users are strongly urged to update to this patched version immediately to mitigate the risk of exploitation.

This incident underscores the importance of rigorous security practices in WordPress theme development and the critical role of vulnerability research in safeguarding the ecosystem.

The ease of exploitation and the potential for site-wide compromise highlight why immediate updates are non-negotiable for Motors theme users.

Wordfence’s collaboration with researchers like Foxyyy exemplifies a proactive approach to security, ensuring that such flaws are identified and addressed before widespread damage occurs.

Site administrators should also consider layered security measures, such as firewalls and regular backups, to protect against similar threats.

If you manage or know someone using the Motors theme, sharing this advisory could be crucial in preventing a catastrophic breach.

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