CVE-2025-69303: 
WordPress vulnerability analysis and mitigation

CVE-2025-69303 is a Missing Authorization (Broken Access Control) vulnerability in the ModelTheme Framework WordPress plugin that allows unauthenticated remote attackers to exploit incorrectly configured access control security levels. It affects all versions of the ModelTheme Framework plugin prior to 2.0.0. The vulnerability was reported on November 19, 2025, and published on January 28, 2026, with NVD publication on February 20, 2026. It carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (High) (Patchstack, Red Hat CVE).

The root cause is classified as CWE-862 (Missing Authorization), meaning the plugin fails to perform adequate authorization checks before executing certain privileged actions. An unauthenticated network attacker can send crafted HTTP requests to trigger functionality that should be restricted to higher-privileged users, exploiting incorrectly configured access control levels. No authentication, user interaction, or special preconditions are required for exploitation. The vulnerability was discovered and credited to researcher Phat RiO and disclosed through Patchstack's Active VDP program (Patchstack).

Successful exploitation results in a high confidentiality impact, with no direct integrity or availability impact per the CVSS scoring. An unauthenticated attacker could access sensitive data or functionality that should be restricted to privileged users on affected WordPress sites. Given the unauthenticated network-accessible nature of the flaw, Patchstack classifies it as high priority and notes that vulnerabilities of this type are commonly leveraged in mass-exploit campaigns targeting thousands of WordPress sites simultaneously (Patchstack).

No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability, and it is remotely accessible over the network with low attack complexity. The EPSS score is approximately 0.017% (0.000170), indicating a currently low probability of exploitation in the wild, though no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation or threat actor attribution has been reported. The vulnerability is not currently listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. Patchstack has issued a virtual patch/mitigation rule to block exploitation attempts for users of its platform (Patchstack, Red Hat CVE).

The vendor (ModelTheme) has released version 2.0.0 of the ModelTheme Framework plugin, which resolves this vulnerability. All users should update to version 2.0.0 or later immediately. As a temporary measure for those unable to update, Patchstack has issued a virtual mitigation rule that blocks exploitation attempts; users can also contact their hosting provider or web developer for assistance. Enabling auto-update for vulnerable plugins via Patchstack is also recommended (Patchstack).

Patchstack, which coordinated the disclosure through its Active VDP program, classified the vulnerability as high priority and noted its potential for use in mass-exploit campaigns targeting WordPress sites. The vulnerability was also covered in the Wordfence Intelligence Weekly WordPress Vulnerability Report for the period of January 26–February 1, 2026 (Wordfence, Patchstack).