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Mentoring (WordPress) EUVDEUVD-2025-209637

| CVE-2025-13618 CRITICAL
Improper Privilege Management (CWE-269)
2026-05-05 Wordfence GHSA-28c2-5wc6-j4hm
9.8
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: Wordfence
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Recon
    Identify target with registration enabled
  2. Delivery
    Craft POST with admin role parameter
  3. Exploit
    Submit to mentoring_process_registration()
  4. Install
    Bypass role validation
  5. C2
    Administrator account created
  6. Execute
    Authenticate with new admin credentials
  7. Impact
    Full site compromise

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2025 - Insecure Design
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Least privilege enforcement
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

WordPress user registration must be enabled via Settings → General → 'Anyone can register' checkbox. The Mentoring theme's registration functionality must be active and processing user signups through the mentoring_process_registration() function. Exploitation is remote and unauthenticated (PR:N) against sites meeting these configuration requirements. Limiting factor: many production WordPress sites disable public registration for security and spam prevention, which completely prevents exploitation. The theme appears targeted at education and mentoring platforms where student/mentee registration is a core feature, making registration-enabled deployments more likely in this theme's user base than general WordPress sites. No special network access, browser conditions, or user interaction required beyond standard HTTP connectivity to the WordPress registration endpoint.

Impact

CVSS 9.8 with AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N indicates maximum exploitability: network-accessible, low complexity, no authentication, no user interaction required. This represents immediate remote compromise risk. The vulnerability creates administrator accounts, granting complete WordPress control (content manipulation, plugin installation, database access, potential server compromise via malicious plugins). Real-world risk depends critically on whether user registration is enabled in site settings-many WordPress sites disable public registration, which eliminates the attack surface entirely. For sites with open registration, this is a shoot-on-sight priority. EPSS data not provided, limiting exploitation probability assessment. No KEV status indicates no confirmed widespread exploitation, but the technical simplicity (AC:L) suggests high automation potential if registration endpoints are exposed. The commercial theme distribution model may limit attack surface compared to free WordPress.org plugins (smaller installation base, but also slower patch adoption due to manual update requirements). Critical gap: exploitation requires registration to be enabled, but input data doesn't confirm if this is default configuration or requires admin opt-in.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

Attacker identifies WordPress site running Mentoring theme version ≤1.2.8 with user registration enabled. Attacker crafts registration POST request to mentoring_process_registration() endpoint, injecting 'administrator' role parameter alongside username, email, and password fields. Plugin processes registration without validating role parameter, creating administrator account. Attacker logs in with newly created admin credentials and achieves complete site control-installing backdoor plugins, exfiltrating user data, defacing content, or pivoting to server infrastructure. POC development trivial given clear function name and standard WordPress registration patterns.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity.
No patch listed yet 0.1% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – May 05, 2026

Privilege escalation in Mentoring theme for WordPress (all versions ≤1.2.8) allows unauthenticated remote attackers to create administrator accounts via broken registration role validation in mentoring_process_registration(). The flaw bypasses normal WordPress role restrictions, enabling complete site takeover without requiring any authentication or user interaction. CVSS 9.8 (critical) with network attack vector and no complexity barriers. EPSS and KEV data not provided, but the combination of unauthenticated admin account creation represents an imminent site compromise risk for all installations with registration enabled.

RemediationAI

Vendor changelog should be consulted at https://mentoring-wp.dreamsmarketplace.com/documentation/changelog.html for patched version release (likely 1.2.9 or higher, though not confirmed in provided data). Commercial theme users must manually download updates from ThemeForest account or via theme's update mechanism. Immediate mitigation if patch unavailable: disable WordPress user registration in Settings → General → 'Anyone can register' (set to unchecked). This completely eliminates the attack vector with no functionality loss for sites not requiring public registration. If registration is business-required, implement registration whitelist via alternative plugins with proper role validation, and disable Mentoring's built-in registration handler. Consider adding Web Application Firewall rules to block POST requests to mentoring_process_registration with non-subscriber role parameters. Note that disabling registration may impact legitimate user onboarding workflows for education/mentoring platforms where this theme is typically deployed.

Affected VersionsENISA

Mentoring 0 ≤1.2.8

Affected Packages

euvd mentoring no fix

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability stems from improper privilege management (CWE-269) in the Mentoring WordPress theme's user registration handler. WordPress plugins and themes typically use wp_insert_user() or similar functions to create accounts, which should enforce role restrictions through capability checks and sanitize user-supplied role parameters. The mentoring_process_registration() function fails to validate or sanitize role assignments during registration, allowing attackers to specify arbitrary roles in registration requests. Affected product per CPE data: Mentoring theme by DreamsTechnologies (all versions through 1.2.8). This is a commercial theme distributed via ThemeForest, not a standalone plugin despite the description terminology, which affects deployment patterns and update mechanisms.

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Severity by source

Vendor (Wordfence) PRIMARY 9.8 CRITICAL
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from Vendor (Wordfence) · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorVendor: Wordfence

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

DescriptionCVE.org

The Mentoring plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation in all versions up to, and including, 1.2.8. This is due to the plugin not properly restricting the roles that users can register with in the mentoring_process_registration() function. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to register with administrator-level user accounts.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

The Mentoring theme for WordPress (versions ≤1.2.8) contains a critical privilege escalation vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to create administrator accounts and achieve complete site takeover. Organizations using this theme with registration enabled face immediate risk of unauthorized administrative access, data breach, and malware injection without any user interaction or authentication required.

Business Impact: Severe
Compensating Controls

No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: (1) Disable WordPress user registration entirely via Settings > General or (2) restrict access to /wp-login.php?action=register via Web Application Firewall or .htaccess rules; (3) implement IP-based access restrictions to registration endpoints; (4) deactivate the Mentoring theme immediately and switch to alternative theme; (5) enable WordPress security plugins with registration honeypot and anomalous admin account detection; (6) implement aggressive rate-limiting on registration endpoints; (7) monitor wp_users table for unexpected administrator accounts with creation timestamps within attack window.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.1%
Top 79% exploitable
Social Media
2
Sightings
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity CRITICAL
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.1%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
CRITICAL severity
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision
Out-of-Cycle
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
Yes
Human Impact
Very High
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

49
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +49
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.

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