CVE-2024-13376
📋 TL;DR
The Industrial WordPress theme has a privilege escalation vulnerability that allows authenticated attackers with subscriber-level access to modify WordPress site options. This can be exploited to change user registration settings and create administrator accounts, granting full control of the website. All WordPress sites using Industrial theme versions 1.7.8 and earlier are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- Industrial WordPress Theme
⚠️ Manual Verification Required
This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.
Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).
🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.
- Review the CVE details at NVD
- Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
- Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
- Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete site takeover where attackers gain administrative access, install backdoors, deface the site, steal data, or use the site for further attacks.
Likely Case
Attackers create administrator accounts for themselves, then use those privileges to install malicious plugins/themes, modify content, or exfiltrate sensitive data.
If Mitigated
With proper access controls and monitoring, exploitation would be detected quickly and limited to the specific compromised user account.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires authenticated access but only subscriber-level privileges. Exploitation involves sending crafted AJAX requests to the vulnerable function.
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Version 1.7.9 or later
Vendor Advisory: https://themeforest.net/item/industrial-manufacturing-wordpress-theme/15776179
Restart Required: No
Instructions:
1. Log into WordPress admin panel. 2. Navigate to Appearance > Themes. 3. Check if Industrial theme update is available. 4. Update to version 1.7.9 or later. 5. Alternatively, download latest version from ThemeForest and manually update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Disable vulnerable AJAX function
allAdd code to theme's functions.php or a custom plugin to remove the vulnerable AJAX handler
add_action('init', function() { remove_action('wp_ajax__ajax_get_total_content_import_items', '_ajax_get_total_content_import_items'); });
Switch to alternative theme
allTemporarily activate a different WordPress theme while awaiting patch
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Disable user registration entirely in WordPress settings
- Implement strict access controls and monitor for suspicious user role changes
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check WordPress admin panel > Appearance > Themes > Industrial theme details for version numberCheck Version:
wp theme list --field=name,version --format=csv | grep IndustrialVerify Fix Applied:
Verify Industrial theme version is 1.7.9 or higher in WordPress admin panel📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- AJAX requests to admin-ajax.php with action '_ajax_get_total_content_import_items'
- Unexpected changes to wp_options table, especially default_role or users_can_register
- New administrator accounts created unexpectedly
Network Indicators:
- POST requests to /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php with suspicious parameters
SIEM Query:
source="wordpress.log" AND ("_ajax_get_total_content_import_items" OR "default_role"="administrator" OR "users_can_register"="1")