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

CVE-2025-53578

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-28
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 gavias Kipso kipso allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Kipso: from n/a through <= 1.3.4.

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

The Gavias Kipso WordPress theme <= 1.3.4 contains a PHP Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability where the application improperly handles user-supplied input in include/require statements, allowing attackers to include arbitrary local files via path traversal or crafted requests.

MitigationImplement strict input validation on all file inclusion parameters using whitelist validation, utilize basename() and realpath() functions to normalize file paths, and ensure allow_url_fopen/allow_url_include are disabled in PHP configuration.

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. Confirm Gavias Kipso theme is installed
    Inspect the WordPress themes directory (wp-content/themes/) for the gavias-kipso folder, or query the WordPress database wp_options table for the active_template/theme_stylesheet setting
    Affected if The gavias-kipso theme folder exists or is active in WordPress
  2. Identify the installed theme version
    Open the style.css file in wp-content/themes/gavias-kipso/ and locate the 'Version:' header in the file comments
    Affected if The version number listed is 1.3.4 or lower (including any 1.x.x version below 1.3.4)
  3. Locate dynamic file inclusion patterns in theme code
    Search all PHP files within wp-content/themes/gavias-kipso/ for patterns like 'include(', 'require(', 'include_once(', 'require_once(' combined with superglobal variables (e.g., $_GET, $_POST, $_REQUEST)
    Affected if Any PHP file uses dynamic file inclusion with unsanitized user input from GET, POST, or REQUEST parameters
  4. Identify the vulnerable parameter name
    Examine the include/require statements found in the previous step to determine which specific parameter controls the file path (e.g., 'file', 'page', 'template', 'path')
    Affected if A parameter accepting user input is used directly in an include/require without validation
  5. Review web server access logs for exploitation attempts
    Search Apache/nginx access logs (usually in /var/log/apache2/ or /var/log/nginx/) for requests to theme PHP files containing path traversal sequences like '../' or '/etc/passwd'
    Affected if Suspicious LFI-style requests targeting the theme are present in the logs

A system is affected if the Gavias Kipso theme version is 1.3.4 or lower AND the theme contains PHP files with dynamic file inclusion using unsanitized user-supplied input.

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

Implement strict input validation on all file inclusion parameters using whitelist validation, utilize basename() and realpath() functions to normalize file paths, and ensure allow_url_fopen/allow_url_include are disabled in PHP configuration.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2025-53578 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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