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

CVE-2025-49254

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-06-17
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 thembay Nika nika allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Nika: from n/a through <= 1.2.8.

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 · moderate confidence

Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability in thembay Nika theme allows attackers to include and read sensitive local files via improperly validated user-supplied input in PHP include/require statements. This stems from insufficient path traversal protection in the application's file inclusion logic.

MitigationImplement strict whitelist-based input validation for file inclusion parameters, use basename() to strip directory traversal sequences, and avoid using user input directly in include/require statements.

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. Confirm Nika theme installation
    Locate thembay Nika theme files in the webroot. Check theme directories for theme configuration files (style.css, theme.json, or similar) that identify the theme name as Nika by thembay.
    Affected if The thembay Nika theme is present in the environment
  2. Determine Nika theme version
    Open the theme's style.css, theme.json, or version file to read the installed version number. Compare this version against any publicly available version information for the Nika theme.
    Affected if The installed version is unknown, outdated, or matches versions associated with this CVE
  3. Identify PHP file inclusion patterns
    Search theme PHP files for include, require, include_once, and require_once statements. Use grep or a code search tool to find these functions and examine if any accept variable input.
    Affected if The theme contains PHP files using include/require with dynamic variable input
  4. Check for path traversal protection
    Review the identified file inclusion code paths. Look for whether user-supplied input ($_GET, $_POST, $_REQUEST) is sanitized using functions like basename(), realpath(), or explicit allowlist validation before being used in include/require.
    Affected if User input flows to include/require without basename(), realpath(), or equivalent path traversal protection
  5. Test for LFI vulnerability manually
    If the vulnerable parameter is identified, attempt to include a known local file (e.g., ../../../../etc/passwd or the application's configuration file) via the suspected parameter to confirm the LFI exists.
    Affected if The application allows reading local files through manipulated include/require parameters

The environment is affected if thembay Nika theme is installed and contains PHP code where user-controllable input is used in include/require statements without proper path traversal sanitization.

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

Implement strict whitelist-based input validation for file inclusion parameters, use basename() to strip directory traversal sequences, and avoid using user input directly in include/require statements.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,870
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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-2025-49254 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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