Introduction
Attackers can take over any AdForest-powered WordPress site running version 6.0.9 or earlier without needing a password or user interaction. This vulnerability enables remote, unauthenticated access to administrator accounts, putting all site data and configuration at risk.
AdForest is a commercial WordPress theme developed by Scriptsbundle and distributed via ThemeForest. It is widely used for classified ad and directory sites, with over 8,700 sales and a significant footprint in the WordPress ecosystem. The theme's popularity and specialized use case make vulnerabilities in its authentication mechanisms especially impactful for organizations relying on it for business-critical operations.
Technical Information
CVE-2025-8359 is an authentication bypass vulnerability present in all versions of the AdForest WordPress theme up to and including 6.0.9. The root cause is improper verification of user identity during the authentication process. Specifically, the theme fails to ensure that a user is who they claim to be before granting access, allowing attackers to log in as any user—including administrators—without needing a password.
The vulnerability is classified as CWE-288 (Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel). This means that an attacker can exploit alternative or insufficiently protected authentication flows to gain access. In previous related AdForest vulnerabilities (CVE-2024-12857 and CVE-2024-11349), issues were found in custom OTP login logic and in the sb_login_user_with_otp_fun function, where user identity was not properly validated before authentication was granted. While the exact code path for CVE-2025-8359 is not publicly disclosed, the pattern indicates a recurring failure to enforce robust identity checks across custom authentication mechanisms.
Key technical characteristics:
- Affects all AdForest theme versions up to and including 6.0.9
- Allows remote, unauthenticated attackers to log in as any user
- No password or user interaction required
- Exploitable via network requests
- Low attack complexity
No public code snippets or proof of concept have been released as of this writing.
Patch Information
To address the domain spoofing vulnerability in Google Chrome on Android, identified as CVE-2023-1234, the development team released an update in version 111.0.5563.64. This update rectified the inappropriate implementation within the Intents system that permitted remote attackers to perform domain spoofing via crafted HTML pages. Users are strongly advised to update their Chrome browser to version 111.0.5563.64 or later to mitigate this vulnerability. (nvd.nist.gov)
Affected Systems and Versions
- AdForest WordPress theme, all versions up to and including 6.0.9
- Any WordPress installation using these versions of the theme is vulnerable
- Applies regardless of configuration or plugin state
Vendor Security History
Scriptsbundle, the developer of AdForest, has a documented history of authentication-related vulnerabilities in this theme:
- CVE-2024-12857 (up to 5.1.8): Authentication bypass via OTP login, fixed in 5.1.9
- CVE-2024-11349 (up to 5.1.6): Authentication bypass in
sb_login_user_with_otp_fun, fixed in 5.1.7 - CVE-2025-8359 (up to 6.0.9): Current vulnerability
While the vendor has released patches for each issue, the recurrence of similar flaws suggests that previous remediations did not fully address the underlying architectural weaknesses in authentication logic. Organizations should be aware of this pattern when evaluating the security of AdForest deployments.