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

CVE-2025-53434

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-12-18
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 AncoraThemes ChildHope childhope allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects ChildHope: from n/a through <= 1.1.8.

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

This is a PHP Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability in the AncoraThemes ChildHope theme (versions up to 1.1.8). The vulnerability allows attackers to include arbitrary files from the server file system through improper control of filename parameters in include/require statements, potentially leading to remote code execution.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched version of the ChildHope theme. If no patch is available, implement strict input validation on all file inclusion parameters and use allowlists to restrict which files can be included.

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. Locate ChildHope theme installation
    Check if the ChildHope theme exists in your WordPress installation under wp-content/themes/childhope/ directory. Use file system browsing or a command like: ls -la /path/to/wordpress/wp-content/themes/ | grep -i childhope
    Affected if The childhope directory exists in the themes folder
  2. Identify installed theme version
    Open the style.css file located in the theme directory (wp-content/themes/childhope/style.css) and locate the 'Version:' field in the CSS header comment block
    Affected if The version listed is 1.1.8 or lower (any version through 1.1.8 is affected)
  3. Check for vulnerable file inclusion patterns
    Search the theme PHP files for include, require, include_once, or require_once statements that use variables derived from $_GET, $_POST, or $_REQUEST parameters. Example command: grep -rn '\$_\(GET|POST|REQUEST\)' wp-content/themes/childhope/*.php
    Affected if Any PHP file in the theme performs file inclusion using unsanitized user input parameters
  4. Verify vulnerable include/require paths
    Examine identified file inclusion code to determine if the included file path can be manipulated via URL parameters. Look for patterns like include($_GET['file']) or require($var) without proper path validation
    Affected if The include/require statements accept user-controlled input without validating or restricting the file path prefix (e.g., allowing ../../../etc/passwd)
  5. Confirm web server access to sensitive files
    If vulnerable LFI code exists, test whether the server will permit directory traversal to read sensitive files such as /etc/passwd, wp-config.php, or other configuration files by requesting theme files with manipulated path parameters
    Affected if The server returns contents of files outside the theme directory when path parameters are manipulated

Your environment is affected if the ChildHope theme version is 1.1.8 or lower AND the theme contains PHP files that use include/require with unsanitized user-supplied input parameters allowing arbitrary file access.

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

Upgrade to a patched version of the ChildHope theme. If no patch is available, implement strict input validation on all file inclusion parameters and use allowlists to restrict which files can be included.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
19.0 hours of engineering $3,380
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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-2025-53434 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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