PHP File Inclusion (RFI/LFI)Weakness · CWE-98

CVE-2025-32286

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-05-23
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
90/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in ApusTheme Butcher butcher allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Butcher: from n/a through <= 2.40.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The Butcher theme by ApusTheme contains a PHP Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability where user-supplied input is used in include/require statements without proper validation, allowing attackers to include and execute arbitrary PHP files from the server filesystem.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched version of the Butcher theme that implements proper input validation on file inclusion paths, or apply a WAF rule to block directory traversal patterns in request parameters.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify if Butcher theme is installed
    Check the wp-content/themes/ directory for a folder named 'butcher' or similar variant. In the theme folder, locate style.css and read the 'Version:' header to find the installed version number.
    Affected if The Butcher theme by ApusTheme is installed and the version is older than the patched version that addresses input validation on file inclusion paths.
  2. Locate PHP files that handle file inclusion
    Search the theme directory for PHP files containing include, require, include_once, or require_once statements. Focus on files that accept dynamic input via $_GET, $_POST, or $_REQUEST parameters for the file path.
    Affected if The theme contains PHP files that use user-supplied parameters (such as 'file', 'path', 'template', or similar) directly in include/require statements without sanitization.
  3. Verify if file inclusion is reachable without authentication
    Examine the PHP files identified in step 2 to determine if the file inclusion logic is accessible to unauthenticated users. Check if the code is in publicly accessible files or requires admin-level access.
    Affected if The vulnerable file inclusion code can be triggered by unauthenticated users via HTTP requests without requiring login or elevated privileges.
  4. Check for directory traversal patterns in requests
    Test (in a non-production manner) whether the file inclusion parameter accepts directory traversal sequences like '../' or absolute paths. Review access logs for suspicious requests containing these patterns to the theme's PHP files.
    Affected if The file inclusion mechanism allows directory traversal characters or absolute file paths to be included, enabling attackers to access files outside the theme directory.

A system is affected if the Butcher theme is installed with a vulnerable version, contains PHP code that includes files based on user input without validation, and that code is accessible to unauthenticated users.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to a patched version of the Butcher theme that implements proper input validation on file inclusion paths, or apply a WAF rule to block directory traversal patterns in request parameters.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-32286 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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