CVE Alert: CVE-2025-10051 – themeinwp – Demo Import Kit

Risk verdict

High risk. While there is no evidence of active exploitation per SSVC enrichment, the flaw enables authenticated, Administrator-level users to upload arbitrary files, potentially enabling remote code execution on the affected site.

Why this matters

If an attacker gains or already has admin access, they can plant a web shell or other malicious payload via the import mechanism, undermining confidentiality, integrity and availability. This could lead to data theft, defacement, or full site compromise, with potential lateral exposure to connected systems.

Most likely attack path

An attacker with Administrator access can abuse the import feature to upload a dangerous file due to missing file-type validation. The impact is high (cascading C I A), with no user interaction required, and the attacker could execute code on the server under the same scope as the web app. Lateral movement would primarily involve further server compromise rather than networked pivoting.

Who is most exposed

WordPress sites deploying the Demo Import Kit (up to version 1.1.0) and exposing admin-import workflows are at highest risk. This pattern is common where site maintenance roles have elevated privileges and the plugin is installed for data import tasks.

Detection ideas

• Alerts on POSTs to the plugin’s import endpoints from admin accounts with unusually large or suspicious payloads.
• Unusual or new files in the plugin’s upload or deployment directories, especially with executable extensions.
• Unexpected PHP/React/Vue files or shell-like artifacts appearing post-import.
• Admin activity spikes around import operations, or successful writes to web-accessible directories.
• Anomalous changes to site behaviour after using the import feature.

Mitigation and prioritisation

• Patch/update to a version addressing the flaw (or remove/restrict the plugin if not needed).
• Enforce least privilege: restrict admin access; require multi-factor authentication for admin accounts.
• Disable or tightly scope the import functionality; implement strict server-side file-type validation and content inspection.
• Enable WAF rules or runtime protections to block suspicious file uploads and execution attempts.
• Change-management: test upgrade in staging before prod; monitor for attempted exploit indicators.
• If KEV true or EPSS ≥ 0.5, treat as priority 1. If not, treat as high-priority with prompt remediation.