CVE-2025-52716
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 · uneditedImproper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in Acato WP REST Cache wp-rest-cache allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects WP REST Cache: from n/a through <= 2025.1.0.
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 confidenceThe WP REST Cache plugin by Acato contains a PHP Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability due to improper control of filenames in include/require statements. Attackers can manipulate file path parameters to include arbitrary PHP files from the server, potentially achieving remote code execution.
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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify WP REST Cache plugin installationIn WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'WP REST Cache' by Acato. Note the installed version displayed.Affected if The plugin is installed and the version is within or unpatched relative to the affected version range.
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Identify plugin version programmaticallyCheck the plugin main file (wp-content/plugins/wp-rest-cache/includes/ or similar path) for the 'Version' header in the plugin comment block, or query the WordPress plugins API endpoint /wp-json/wp/v2/plugins if REST API is accessible.Affected if The version retrieved matches the vulnerable version range or cannot be determined to be patched.
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Locate vulnerable file inclusion codeSearch plugin PHP files for include, require, include_once, or require_once statements that use variables in file paths without sanitization (e.g., include($path), require($_GET['file']).Affected if File inclusion code using unsanitized input from request parameters exists in the plugin.
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Identify exposed REST API endpointsAccess /wp-json/ and look for endpoints under the wp-rest-cache namespace. Check plugin routing files for registered REST routes that accept file path parameters.Affected if The plugin exposes REST endpoints that accept file path parameters without validation.
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Review access logs for LFI patternsExamine web server access logs (Apache, Nginx) for requests to plugin endpoints containing directory traversal patterns like ../, ..\, or absolute paths in query parameters.Affected if Logs show requests with traversal patterns or unusual file path parameters targeting the plugin endpoints.
A defender is affected if the WP REST Cache plugin is installed with a version that falls within the vulnerable range and the plugin exposes REST endpoints or code paths that allow unsanitized file path input.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpdate the WP REST Cache plugin to the latest version once available; if no patch exists, disable the plugin immediately. Implement input validation on all file path parameters and consider deploying a WAF rule to block directory traversal patterns.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-52716 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-52716 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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