Real Spaces - WordPress Properties Directory Theme <= 3.5 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Privilege Escalation to Administrator via 'change_role_member'
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Patched in 3.6
- Affected Theme
- Real Spaces - WordPress Properties Directory Theme
- Affected Version
<= 3.5- CVSS
- 8.8High
- Weakness type
- CWE-269 · Improper Privilege Management
- CVE
CVE-2025-8218
At a glance
CVE-2025-8218 is a high-severity Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in the Real Spaces - WordPress Properties Directory Theme WordPress theme, affecting versions <= 3.5. It carries a CVSS score of 8.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Subscriber level or above. The issue is fixed in version 3.6; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed August 2025, reported by Alyudin Nafiie.
Vulnerability Overview
The Real Spaces - WordPress Properties Directory Theme theme for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation via the 'change_role_member' parameter in all versions up to, and including, 3.5. This is due to a lack of restriction in the profile update role. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to arbitrarily choose their role, including the Administrator role, during a profile update.
Technical Analysis
The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, with low attack complexity — no special timing or configuration is needed, and no interaction from a victim user. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.
CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management
Real Spaces - WordPress Properties Directory Theme <= 3.5 carries this weakness at change_role_member, and reaching it takes an account at Subscriber level or above. Improper privilege management means the code lets an account end up with capabilities its role should not have.
It converts a low-privileged account into an administrative one, which makes every other restriction on the site irrelevant. For Real Spaces - WordPress Properties Directory Theme the fix is 3.6: builds <= 3.5 are affected, anything from 3.6 onward is not.
Remediation
Update to version 3.6, or a newer patched version
How does WordSec protect against this?
Because it turns on account access, WordSec's login security is the relevant layer: role-based two-factor, captcha and brute-force limits raise the cost of getting the account this needs. None of that substitutes for the fix: Real Spaces - WordPress Properties Directory Theme 3.6 closes this, and updating the theme is the step that ends it.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Related records
Same weakness class
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