Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Avada theme versions up to 7.8.1 for WordPress had a CSRF flaw that could let an attacker trick a privileged user into installing or activating a plugin. That can become serious because plugins can change site behavior and security posture.
Executive priority
Treat as high priority for any business site using Avada, especially revenue, lead-generation, or customer-facing WordPress properties. The main business risk is unauthorized site modification through administrator deception.
Technical view
CVE-2022-41996 is a CWE-352 CSRF issue in ThemeFusion Avada <= 7.8.1. The published CVSS 3.1 score is 8.8, with network attack vector, low complexity, no attacker privileges, and required user interaction. Reported impact is arbitrary plugin installation or activation.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites running the Avada premium theme at version 7.8.1 or earlier. Risk is most relevant where an administrator or similarly privileged user can be induced to interact with attacker-controlled content.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. The vulnerability requires user interaction, but the outcome can be high impact because plugin installation or activation may alter site control, data handling, and availability.
Researcher notes
Evidence identifies the vulnerability class, affected version range, impact, and CVSS vector. The bundle does not provide exploit telemetry, detailed root cause, or a specific fixed version statement beyond the affected range.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites using the Avada premium theme.
- Upgrade Avada beyond affected versions using ThemeFusion guidance.
- Confirm whether vendor changelog identifies the remediation release.
- Restrict administrative browsing and plugin management to trusted workflows.
- Monitor for unexpected plugin installations or activations.
Validation and detection
- Check each WordPress site's active theme and Avada version.
- Flag Avada versions 7.8.1 or earlier as affected.
- Review WordPress admin logs for plugin installation or activation anomalies.
- Confirm the site runs a vendor-supported Avada release.
- Verify no unapproved plugins remain active after remediation.
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-352: User-session and phishing behavior lookup
Client-side and session-facing weaknesses should be reviewed alongside initial-access and user-execution behaviors. 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-2022-41996 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:N/UI:R/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:N/UI:R/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:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://patchstack.com/database/vulnerability/avada/wordpress-avada-premium-theme-7-8-1-cross-site-request-forgery-csrf-vulnerability?_s_id=cveCVE reference
- https://theme-fusion.com/documentation-assets/avada/changelog.txtCVE reference
- https://themeforest.net/item/avada-responsive-multipurpose-theme/2833226CVE 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.
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)
Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.