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Vulnerability record · CVE-2020-36721 · published 7 June 2023

CVE-2020-36721: Colorlib activello improper access control vulnerability

Colorlib · Activello

The Brilliance <= 1.2.7, Activello <= 1.4.0, and Newspaper X <= 1.3.1 themes for WordPress are vulnerable to Plugin Activation/Deactivation. This is due to the 'activello_activate_plugin' and 'activello_deactivate_plugin' functions in the 'inc/welcome-screen/class-activello-welcome.php' file missing capability and security checks/nonces. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to activate and deactivate arbitrary plugins installed on a vulnerable site.

6.5 CVSS 3.1 Medium EPSS 0.97% · top 39.6% CWE-284 · Improper access controlCWE-862 · Missing authorization
6.5CVSS 3.1 base score
0.97%EPSS exploitation probability, 30 days
NoNot in CISA KEV
15Affected product versions listed by NVD
10References, 2 tagged exploit
17 Jun 2026Last modified by NVD

Description

The Brilliance <= 1.2.7, Activello <= 1.4.0, and Newspaper X <= 1.3.1 themes for WordPress are vulnerable to Plugin Activation/Deactivation. This is due to the 'activello_activate_plugin' and 'activello_deactivate_plugin' functions in the 'inc/welcome-screen/class-activello-welcome.php' file missing capability and security checks/nonces. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to activate and deactivate arbitrary plugins installed on a vulnerable site.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L

Affected products

15 vulnerable configurations from NVD's CPE data, grouped by vendor and product.

References

LinkTags
https://blog.nintechnet.com/unauthenticated-function-injection-vulnerability-fixed-in-15-wordpress-themes/ ExploitThird Party Advisory
https://wordpress.org/themes/activello/ Product
https://wordpress.org/themes/brilliance/ Product
https://wordpress.org/themes/newspaper-x/ Product
https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/a9e4e989-8e55-4ea7-8f42-9f67cfab1168?source=cve Third Party Advisory
https://blog.nintechnet.com/unauthenticated-function-injection-vulnerability-fixed-in-15-wordpress-themes/ ExploitThird Party Advisory
https://wordpress.org/themes/activello/ Product
https://wordpress.org/themes/brilliance/ Product
https://wordpress.org/themes/newspaper-x/ Product
https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/a9e4e989-8e55-4ea7-8f42-9f67cfab1168?source=cve Third Party Advisory

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Related vulnerabilities

Same products first, then exploited flaws of the same weakness class.

9.8CVE-2020-36708Unauthenticated function injection in Epsilon Framework WordPress themesMultiple WordPress themes built on the Epsilon Framework expose the epsilon_framework_ajax_action handler, which allows arbitrary function calls. Ver…EPSS 65%analysed5.4CVE-2022-45358Colorlib activello cross-site scripting vulnerabilityAuth. (subscriber+) Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in Silkalns Activello theme <= 1.4.4 versions.EPSS 0.39%7.8CVE-2026-81963Windows Update Stack link-following privilege escalationWindows Update Stack resolves links improperly before accessing files, a link-following flaw (CWE-59) compounded by improper access control (CWE-284)…KEVEPSS 0.39%analysed10.0CVE-2026-21962Oracle HTTP Server and WebLogic Proxy Plug-in improper access controlOracle HTTP Server and the WebLogic Server Proxy Plug-in (for Apache HTTP Server and IIS) contain an improper access control flaw (CWE-284) in suppor…KEVEPSS 71%analysed10.0CVE-2026-34908Ubiquiti UniFi OS improper access control allows unauthorized system changesUniFi OS devices contain an improper access control flaw (CWE-284) that lets a network-reachable actor make unauthorized changes to the system. The C…KEVEPSS 15%analysed10.0CVE-2026-48907JCE editor for Joomla allows unauthenticated profile creation and PHP uploadThe JCE editor extension for Joomla permits unauthenticated users to create new editor profiles, which leads to upload and execution of PHP code. Thi…KEVEPSS 16%analysed9.8CVE-2026-35616FortiClientEMS improper access control allows unauthenticated code executionFortinet FortiClientEMS 7.4.5 through 7.4.6 contains an improper access control flaw (CWE-284) that lets an unauthenticated attacker send crafted req…KEVEPSS 9.1%analysed7.5CVE-2025-31125Vite dev server improper access control exposes arbitrary filesVite's dev server fails to restrict file access when a request uses the ?inline&import or ?raw?import query patterns, allowing content of files that …KEVEPSS 65%analysed

Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2020-36721), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-27). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.