CVE-2025-12981
CWE-269Published: February 27, 2026· Updated: Feb 27, 2026
Official Description
The Listee theme for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation in all versions up to, and including, 1.1.6. This is due to a broken validation check in the bundled listee-core plugin's user registration function that fails to properly sanitize the user_role parameter. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to register as Administrator by manipulating the user_role parameter during registration.
Technical Analysis
CVE-2025-12981 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.
The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.
A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 9.8.
CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown
Affected Vendors & Products
Exploit & PoC Resources
All References (4)
Quick Facts
Related CVEs (CWE-269)
Recommended Actions
- →Apply vendor patches immediately
- →Monitor CVE-2025-12981 in threat intel feeds
- →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts