Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2025-0316 is a critical-severity Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel (CWE-288) vulnerability in Themeforest (inferred from references). Its CVSS base score is 9.8 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Stealth (T1211); ranked in the top 46% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-25 (Reference Monitor) and AC-3 (Access Enforcement) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
The WP Directorybox Manager plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authentication bypass in versions up to and including 2.5. The flaw stems from incorrect authentication logic in the wp_dp_enquiry_agent_contact_form_submit_callback function, which permits unauthenticated actors to impersonate any existing user account when supplied with a valid username. The issue carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.8 and is tracked under CWE-288.
Unauthenticated attackers can exploit the weakness over the network to obtain administrative access to a site, provided they know or can guess a username. Successful exploitation grants full control over the WordPress instance, including the ability to modify content, install plugins, or exfiltrate data.
EPSS for the vulnerability rose from a low baseline to a peak of 0.0159 on 2026-01-13 before receding to the current value of 0.0016, indicating a period of increased exploitation interest after public disclosure. Reference material is available from Wordfence threat intelligence and the ThemeForest page for the related Directory multipurpose theme.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-1600
Vulnerability Data
The WP Directorybox Manager plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authentication bypass in versions up to, and including, 2.5. This is due to incorrect authentication in the 'wp_dp_enquiry_agent_contact_form_submit_callback' function. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to log in as…
more
any existing user on the site, such as an administrator, if they have access to the username.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 7 hardening rules · 3 OS baselines
V6.4.3V6.6.1V12.1.3
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Requires a tamperproof, always-invoked reference monitor that structurally blocks bypass via any alternate path.
Enforces authorization checks on every logical access path, eliminating unauthenticated alternate channels.
Mandates unique identification and authentication for all organizational users, covering the primary authentication requirement.
Controls all external and key internal interfaces, reducing the chance of unauthenticated alternate channels.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Requiring authentication on every channel and path directly eliminates alternate-path bypasses.
Enforcing authorizations and least privilege across all access vectors prevents unauthenticated alternate paths.
Protecting networks and environments from unauthorized logical access blocks bypass via undocumented channels.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing can detect alternate-path bypasses but does not prevent them in production.
A.8.3's core (access restriction per policies, config mechanisms, identity/group controls, isolation, dynamic techniques requiring auth/credentials) directly stops exploitation of alternate unauthenticated paths for most instances; the bounded remainder is non-access-channel cases (e.g. pure logic errors in alternate-path checks) or pre-auth bypasses outside its enforcement scope.
A.8.5 mandates strong, multi-factor, alternate-path-resistant authentication techniques plus hardened log-on procedures that directly block unauthenticated alternate channels for most cases (e.g. no bypass via weak paths, sniffing, or incomplete checks); the bounded remainder is non-standard or environment-specific alternate channels outside the clause's listed protections.
Access rights provisioning and review prevent bypass via unmonitored or alternate channels.
Privileged access rights control reduces risk of bypass through elevated or alternate paths.
Secure coding practices help avoid bypass vulnerabilities but do not address deployed instances.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (higher-evidence rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
Oracle Linux 8 (2 rules)
- V-248598 There must be no ".shosts" files on the OL 8 operating system. blocks CWE-288
- V-248827 OL 8 must not have the rsh-server package installed. blocks CWE-288
Oracle Linux 9 (2 rules)
- V-271757 OL 9 file systems must not contain shosts.equiv files. blocks CWE-288
- V-271758 OL 9 file systems must not contain .shosts files. blocks CWE-288
RHEL 7 (3 rules)
- V-204440 Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating systems version 7.2 or newer using Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) must require authentication upon booting into single-user and maintenance modes. blocks CWE-288
- V-204442 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not have the rsh-server package installed. blocks CWE-288
- V-204424 The Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating system must not allow accounts configured with blank or null passwords. blocks CWE-288