CVE-2025-53204
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 ovatheme eventlist eventlist allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects eventlist: from n/a through <= 1.9.2.
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 confidencePHP Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability in the ovatheme eventlist WordPress theme allows remote attackers to include and execute arbitrary PHP files from the server by manipulating the filename parameter in include/require statements, potentially leading to complete system compromise.
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify if ovatheme eventlist theme is installedCheck the WordPress themes directory (wp-content/themes/) for a folder named 'eventlist', 'eventlist-wp', or similar ovatheme eventlist theme foldersAffected if The eventlist theme folder exists in the WordPress themes directory
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Determine the installed theme versionOpen the theme's style.css file (wp-content/themes/[eventlist-folder]/style.css) and look for the 'Version:' header in the CSS comment block at the topAffected if The version listed is unknown or falls within an unpatched version range (the theme lacks a published patch for this vulnerability)
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Check if the theme is activeIn WordPress admin, go to Appearance > Themes to see which theme is currently activeAffected if The ovatheme eventlist theme is the active theme
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Identify vulnerable file inclusion codeSearch the theme's PHP files for include/require statements using variable parameters, particularly patterns like 'include($_GET[...])' or 'require($_POST[...])' without sanitization, especially in files within an 'include' or 'lib' folderAffected if Code contains include/require statements that use unsanitized user input for the filename parameter
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Test for LFI parameter exposureExamine HTTP requests to the site for any parameters named 'filename', 'file', 'page', 'template', or similar that might be passed to include/require functions without validationAffected if The application accepts filename parameters that could be manipulated for path traversal (e.g., ../../etc/passwd)
If the ovatheme eventlist theme is installed and active with vulnerable file inclusion code that accepts unsanitized filename parameters, 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 a patched version of the eventlist theme; if unavailable, disable the theme and implement input validation on all file inclusion parameters using allowlists or basename() functions to prevent path traversal.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-53204 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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