A critical security alert has been issued for users of TheGem, a premium WordPress theme installed on over 82,000 websites worldwide. If you’re using this theme, you could be vulnerable to a full-site takeover.
🔥 Two newly discovered vulnerabilities in TheGem (version 5.10.3 and earlier) open the door for remote code execution (RCE)—meaning hackers could run malicious code on your site and take full control.
🛑 How the Hack Works (In Simple Terms)
Security researchers found two separate flaws that, when used together, become a hacker’s dream toolkit.
“Attackers can upload malicious PHP files and execute them remotely through a publicly accessible folder,” warns Wordfence in their security bulletin.
Vulnerability 1: File Upload Flaw (CVE-2025-4317)
- ✅ Severity: High (CVSS 8.8)
- 💥 What it does: Allows subscribers to upload any file, including dangerous PHP scripts.
- 🔍 The issue: The theme fails to properly validate file types when handling logo uploads via
thegem_get_logo_url().
Vulnerability 2: Theme Option Exploit (CVE-2025-4339)
- ✅ Severity: Medium (CVSS 4.3)
- 🧠 What it does: Lets users with even the lowest permissions (like subscribers) change theme settings.
- ⚠️ The catch: The
ajaxApi()function lacks proper permission checks.
🧩 When Combined: Full Site Compromise
Hackers don’t even need admin access. Here’s how the attack chain works:
- Subscriber-level user changes the logo URL to a malicious file (using CVE-2025-4339).
- When the site loads the logo, the theme downloads that malicious file with no checks (via CVE-2025-4317).
- Hacker then visits the uploaded file’s URL and executes remote code on the server.
🚀 What You Should Do Immediately
CodexThemes responded quickly and released a patched version, 5.10.3.1, on May 7, 2025.
✅ Update Immediately:
Go to your WordPress dashboard and update TheGem theme to version 5.10.3.1 or later.
🛡️ Additional Actions to Protect Your Site:
- Install a Web Application Firewall (WAF).
- Limit subscriber permissions—no one should have more access than needed.
- Check your server logs for suspicious uploads.
- Enable auto-updates for themes and plugins going forward.
🖼️ Image Suggestion:
🧠 Why This Matters
WordPress powers over 43% of the internet. A single vulnerability in a popular theme like TheGem can put tens of thousands of websites—and user data—at serious risk.
Let this be your reminder:
💡 Update regularly, audit permissions, and never skip security plugins.
