CVE-2025-53252
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 zozothemes Zegen zegen allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Zegen: from n/a through <= 1.1.9.
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 confidenceA PHP Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability in the Zegen theme allows attackers to manipulate file inclusion paths to execute arbitrary PHP code from local files. This stems from improper validation of user-supplied input 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/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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Confirm Zegen theme installationSearch your web server document root for the Zegen theme files - look for directories named 'zegen' or theme configuration files containing 'zegen' in the filenameAffected if The Zegen theme files are present on the server
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Identify Zegen theme versionCheck theme metadata files (style.css, theme.json, or similar) within the Zegen theme directory for a version declaration; compare against any known affected version rangesAffected if The installed version falls within the affected range (no specific range provided in CVE data)
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Locate file inclusion functionsSearch PHP files within the Zegen theme for include, include_once, require, or require_once statements, particularly those use variable parameters (e.g., include($var))Affected if Variable-based include/require statements exist in the theme
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Check for user input in file inclusionsExamine the identified include/require calls to determine if GET, POST, or COOKIE parameters are used in the file path without sanitization (look for patterns like include($_GET['file']) or require($page))Affected if User-supplied input directly flows into include/require without validation or filtering
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Test for path traversal capabilityIf user input reaches file inclusion functions, attempt to access a known local file (e.g., /etc/passwd or ../config.php) via the vulnerable parameter to confirm path traversal is possibleAffected if The application allows path traversal characters (..) and reads files outside the intended directory
You are affected if the Zegen theme is installed, uses include/require with variable input, and that input accepts unsanitized user data that can traverse paths.
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 Zegen theme if available; otherwise, implement strict input validation and whitelist-based filtering on all file inclusion functions to prevent path traversal.
- 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.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-53252 — 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-2025-53252 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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