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

CVE-2025-62053

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-11-06
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 favethemes Houzez houzez.This issue affects Houzez: from n/a through < 4.2.0.

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

A Remote File Inclusion (RFI) vulnerability in the Houzez WordPress theme allows attackers to include malicious remote files via improper validation of user-supplied filename parameters in PHP include/require statements. This can lead to arbitrary code execution on the server.

MitigationUpdate Houzez theme to version 4.2.0 or later to obtain the patched code. If immediate update is not possible, disable the theme or restrict access to the vulnerable endpoint via web server 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. Locate the Houzez theme installation
    Check your WordPress installation under wp-content/themes/houzez/ for the theme files, or look for 'Houzez' in the WordPress admin Appearance > Themes section
    Affected if Houzez theme is present in the WordPress installation
  2. Identify the installed Houzez theme version
    Open the file wp-content/themes/houzez/style.css and look for the 'Version:' declaration in the file header comment at the top
    Affected if The version number shown is lower than 4.2.0 (for example: 4.1.9, 4.1.8, 4.0.x, etc.)
  3. Search for vulnerable PHP include/require patterns
    Use grep or a file search to look for include, include_once, require, or require_once statements in PHP files within wp-content/themes/houzez/ that use variable parameters without sanitization, such as: include($filename); or require($_GET['something']);
    Affected if Any of these insecure include/require patterns are found in theme PHP files and the theme version is below 4.2.0
  4. Check web server access logs for exploitation attempts
    Review your web server access logs (Apache, Nginx, or LiteSpeed) for requests to theme PHP files that contain suspicious URL-like parameters, such as ?file=http:// or ?filename=http:// or ?src=http://
    Affected if Requests matching these patterns appear in the logs targeting the Houzez theme files

You are affected if the Houzez theme is installed and its version is below 4.2.0, or if you find the insecure include/require patterns in theme files regardless of version.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update Houzez theme to version 4.2.0 or later to obtain the patched code. If immediate update is not possible, disable the theme or restrict access to the vulnerable endpoint via web server configuration.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Houzez theme version 4.2.0 or later

  1. Backup your WordPress site and database before making any changes
  2. Verify your current Houzez theme version in WordPress admin under Appearance > Themes
  3. Navigate to ThemeForest or your purchase source to download Houzez version 4.2.0 or latest available version
  4. Update the Houzez theme through WordPress admin (Appearance > Themes > Add New > Upload) or via FTP
  5. After updating, clear any caching plugins and server-side caches
  6. Verify the update was successful by checking the theme version in WordPress admin
  7. Test critical functionality on the site to ensure the update did not break existing features
Caveat Review theme changelog for potential child theme or customization impacts before updating

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
5.0 hours of engineering $860
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,376.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-62053 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2025-62053 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data