A critical security vulnerability has been discovered in the widely used Motors WordPress theme, putting over 22,000 websites at risk of complete compromise.
The privilege escalation flaw, tracked as CVE-2025-4322 and assigned a CVSS score of 9.8 (Critical), enables unauthenticated attackers to reset passwords for any user account, including those with administrator privileges.
This opens the door for malicious actors to seize control of targeted sites, potentially resulting in defacement, data theft, or further exploitation.
Critical Privilege Escalation Flaw
The vulnerability was responsibly reported on May 2nd, 2025, by security researcher Foxyyy through the Wordfence Bug Bounty Program.
For this discovery, Foxyyy was awarded $1,073.00, including a meaningful researcher bonus for submitting a clear, reproducible report.
According to Wordfence Report, the source of the issue lies in insufficient input validation within the password recovery mechanism of the Motors theme, which is heavily marketed to car dealers, rental companies, and vehicle listing sites via the ThemeForest marketplace.
A technical review reveals that the Login Register widget in the theme fails to properly verify the authenticity of a requester before allowing password changes.
More specifically, the affected code does not adequately check if a password reset token (hash) is set and valid.
An attacker can exploit this weakness by submitting a request with an invalid UTF-8 character in the hash_check parameter; due to the way PHP sanitizes this input, the check is bypassed, and if the user has no password reset in process (the default state for most users), the password can be changed without authorization.
Once an attacker gains administrator access, the potential for damage is extensive. They can install malicious plugins or themes, alter website content, redirect traffic to phishing or malware sites, and embed backdoors for persistent access.
Given the prominence of the Motors theme, the impact of such exploitation could ripple across thousands of automotive-centric businesses reliant on WordPress for their online operations.
Prompt Response by Developer
Wordfence acted swiftly, deploying firewall rules to Premium, Care, and Response customers on May 6, 2025, to pre-empt attempted exploits.
Protection for users of the free Wordfence plugin will become available on June 5, 2025, following their standard 30-day delay policy.
The vulnerability was disclosed to StylemixThemes, the developers of Motors, on May 5, with prompt acknowledgment and collaboration following on May 8.
A patched version, 5.6.68, was released on May 14, 2025, addressing the flaw for all users.
Website administrators are urged to immediately update the Motors theme to version 5.6.68 or later and to review logs for signs of unauthorized access or password changes.
Given the severity of the vulnerability, prompt action is vital to thwart potential attacks.
Wordfence emphasizes the importance of defense in depth and robust vulnerability disclosure programs, both of which were instrumental in minimizing the exposure period of this flaw.
The coordinated response between the security research community, Wordfence, and StylemixThemes demonstrates the effectiveness of responsible vulnerability handling.
However, site owners remain the final line of defense regular updates and vigilance are essential to safeguarding WordPress installations from emerging threats.
If you maintain a site using the Motors theme, verify your update status and share this advisory with anyone who could be impacted.
Find this Story Interesting! Follow us on LinkedIn and X to Get More Instant updates
