CVE-2025-52816
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 themehunk Zita zita allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Zita: from n/a through <= 1.6.5.
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 Zita WordPress theme contains a Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability in its PHP code where user-controlled input is used in include/require statements without proper validation. This allows attackers to potentially include arbitrary PHP files from the server, which could lead to remote code execution. The vulnerability affects all versions through 1.6.5.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data<= 1.6.5CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Zita theme installationCheck the theme folder at wp-content/themes/zita/ and locate the style.css file or theme.json to read the theme versionAffected if The Zita theme is installed and version is 1.6.5 or lower
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Confirm vulnerable code pattern existsSearch the theme PHP files for include, require, include_once, or require_once statements that use variables or parameters directly in the file path without proper validationAffected if The theme contains include/require statements using unsanitized input for file paths
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Check for accessible LFI entry pointsReview PHP files that handle file inclusion and identify any GET, POST, or REQUEST parameters used in include/require statements without validationAffected if User-controllable parameters are used in file inclusion functions without sanitization
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Verify directory traversal is possibleTest whether the file inclusion parameter accepts paths with ../ sequences to access files outside the theme directoryAffected if The application allows directory traversal characters in file path parameters
If the Zita theme version is 1.6.5 or lower and contains file inclusion code using unsanitized user input, the environment is affected by this LFI vulnerability.
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 to the latest version of the Zita theme when a patch is released. Until then, disable the theme or implement web application firewall rules to block requests with directory traversal patterns in URL parameters.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-52816 — 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-2025-52816 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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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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