CVE-2020-36721 | Epsilon Framework Themes (Various Versions) - Unauthenticated Plugin Activation/Deactivation

Exp

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.

Published: 2023-06-07 Last update: 2026-04-08 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2020-36721 is rated Exploit Available (53.5/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.15%). 1 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2020-36721

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2020-36721

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-03-02 0.12% 0.15% +0.03%
2 2025-11-21 0.42% 0.12% -0.30%
3 2025-11-18 — 0.42% —

Full EPSS history (12 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2020-36721

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
6.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
 3.9 2.5 [email protected]
6.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
 3.9 2.5 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2020-36721

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2020-36721

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
colorlib activello < 1.4.2 cpe:2.3:a:colorlib:activello:*:*:*:*:*:wordpress:*:*
colorlib bonkers < 1.0.6 cpe:2.3:a:colorlib:bonkers:*:*:*:*:*:wordpress:*:*
colorlib illdy < 2.1.7 cpe:2.3:a:colorlib:illdy:*:*:*:*:*:wordpress:*:*
colorlib newspaper_x < 1.3.2 cpe:2.3:a:colorlib:newspaper_x:*:*:*:*:*:wordpress:*:*
colorlib pixova_lite < 2.0.7 cpe:2.3:a:colorlib:pixova_lite:*:*:*:*:*:wordpress:*:*
colorlib shapely < 1.2.9 cpe:2.3:a:colorlib:shapely:*:*:*:*:*:wordpress:*:*
cpothemes affluent < 1.1.2 cpe:2.3:a:cpothemes:affluent:*:*:*:*:*:wordpress:*:*
cpothemes allegiant < 1.2.6 cpe:2.3:a:cpothemes:allegiant:*:*:*:*:*:wordpress:*:*
cpothemes brilliance < 1.3.0 cpe:2.3:a:cpothemes:brilliance:*:*:*:*:*:wordpress:*:*
cpothemes transcend < 1.2.0 cpe:2.3:a:cpothemes:transcend:*:*:*:*:*:wordpress:*:*
machothemes antreas < 1.0.7 cpe:2.3:a:machothemes:antreas:*:*:*:*:*:wordpress:*:*
machothemes medzone_lite < 1.2.6 cpe:2.3:a:machothemes:medzone_lite:*:*:*:*:*:wordpress:*:*
machothemes naturemag_lite <= 1.0.4 cpe:2.3:a:machothemes:naturemag_lite:*:*:*:*:*:wordpress:*:*
machothemes newsmag < 2.4.2 cpe:2.3:a:machothemes:newsmag:*:*:*:*:*:wordpress:*:*
machothemes regina_lite < 2.0.6 cpe:2.3:a:machothemes:regina_lite:*:*:*:*:*:wordpress:*:*

References for CVE-2020-36721

cvelogic Threat Intelligence