Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2019-25142 affects the WordPress Mesmerize and Materialis themes. A logged-in attacker could change protected WordPress options because the vulnerable function checked only a nonce before passing user input into update_option. This can undermine site integrity and potentially broader security settings.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for public WordPress sites, especially those allowing many user accounts. The issue requires authentication, but the potential impact reaches core site configuration and is rated high severity.
Technical view
Mesmerize through 1.6.89 and Materialis through 1.0.172 expose an authenticated arbitrary options update issue in companion_disable_popup. The flaw maps to CWE-862 and is scored CVSS 3.1 8.8 with low privileges required and high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running affected Mesmerize or Materialis theme versions with an attacker able to authenticate. Public sites with broad subscriber registration or weak account controls are more exposed than tightly administered sites.
Exploitation context
The bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or cited evidence of active exploitation. Public vulnerability records exist, and the issue is network-accessible with low privileges, so vulnerable internet-facing WordPress sites should treat it as urgent.
Researcher notes
The key defect is insufficient authorization before update_option use. Sources identify nonce-only checking in companion_disable_popup, not a full capability check. Evidence supports affected version ranges and patch-related changesets, but the bundle does not provide confirmed exploitation telemetry.
Mitigation direction
- Update Mesmerize beyond 1.6.89 and Materialis beyond 1.0.172 where available.
- Check WordPress.org theme pages and vendor guidance for current fixed releases.
- Disable or replace affected themes if immediate updating is not possible.
- Reduce unnecessary WordPress user accounts and restrict self-registration where business-appropriate.
- Review recent option changes and administrative account activity.
Validation and detection
- Inventory WordPress sites using Mesmerize or Materialis themes.
- Confirm installed Mesmerize and Materialis versions are above the affected ranges.
- Check whether vulnerable companion_disable_popup behavior is absent in deployed theme code.
- Review WordPress audit logs for unexpected option changes.
- Verify no unneeded low-privilege accounts remain active.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-862: Authorization and privilege behavior lookup
Authorization weaknesses can support privilege escalation and valid-account review, depending on exploit path. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2019-25142 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 8.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H2.85.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.8HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/8c9c3302-47cd-4dbe-b79e-5e6032928074?source=cveCVE reference
- https://blog.nintechnet.com/wordpress-mesmerize-and-materialis-themes-fixed-an-authenticated-options-change-vulnerability/CVE reference
- https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/e4d70f03-69d5-4cca-8300-985f68d19ddcCVE reference
- https://wordpress.org/themes/mesmerize/CVE reference
- https://wordpress.org/themes/materialis/CVE reference
- https://themes.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&old=121291%40mesmerize&new=121291%40mesmerize&sfp_email=&sfph_mail=CVE reference
- https://themes.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?sfp_email=&sfph_mail=&reponame=&old=121290%40materialis&new=121290%40materialis&sfp_email=&sfph_mail=CVE reference
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Missing Authorization
Missing Authorization represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.