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

CVE-2025-67521

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-12-09
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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 Select-Themes Select Core select-core allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Select Core: from n/a through < 2.6.

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 confidence

This is a PHP file inclusion vulnerability in the Select Core plugin used by Select-Themes WordPress themes. The application fails to properly validate input passed to include/require statements, allowing attackers to manipulate filename parameters to include arbitrary local PHP files (LFI) or potentially remote files (RFI), potentially leading to sensitive data exposure or remote code execution.

MitigationUpgrade Select Core to version 2.6 or later. If immediate upgrading is not possible, disable the vulnerable include/require functionality and implement strict input validation on all file inclusion parameters.

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Locate Select Core component in WordPress installation
    Search the wp-content/plugins/ directory and theme folders for files named select-core.php, selectcore.php, or any directory containing 'select' and 'core' in the name. Also check the theme's functions.php for calls to Select Core classes.
    Affected if The Select Core plugin or integrated theme component is found in the WordPress installation
  2. Identify Select Core version
    Open the main Select Core plugin file or the theme's version file and locate the version declaration in the file header comments or defined as a constant. Common paths include wp-content/plugins/select-core/select-core.php or within the theme's includes/ folder.
    Affected if The installed version is below 2.6 (e.g., 2.5, 2.4, etc.) or the version cannot be determined (older installations may not declare version)
  3. Search for vulnerable file inclusion patterns
    Within the Select Core files, grep or manually review for include(), require(), include_once(), or require_once() statements that use $_GET, $_POST, or $_REQUEST superglobals directly as the file path without sanitization. Look for patterns like 'include($_GET['...'])' or 'require($_REQUEST['...'])'.
    Affected if File inclusion code uses unsanitized user-supplied input as the filename parameter and the affected file is accessible via web request
  4. Check for exposed file parameter endpoints
    Review WordPress routing and any direct-access PHP files in Select Core to identify which scripts accept filename or file parameters via URL query strings. Test by making a benign request with a test parameter value to confirm the application processes it.
    Affected if URL parameters controlling file inclusion are accepted and processed by the application without validation

The environment is affected if Select Core version is below 2.6 and the vulnerable file inclusion code with unsanitized input is accessible through web requests.

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

Upgrade Select Core to version 2.6 or later. If immediate upgrading is not possible, disable the vulnerable include/require functionality and implement strict input validation on all file inclusion parameters.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Select Core version 2.6

  1. 1. Backup your WordPress site and database before making any changes.
  2. 2. Navigate to the WordPress admin dashboard > Plugins or Themes section.
  3. 3. Locate the Select Core plugin/theme from Select-Themes.
  4. 4. Check the current installed version to confirm it is below 2.6.
  5. 5. Update the Select Core plugin/theme to version 2.6 or later.
  6. 6. Verify the update was successful by confirming the new version number.
  7. 7. Test critical site functionality to ensure the update did not break existing features.
Caveat Minor version updates typically do not introduce breaking changes, but always test in a staging environment first

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

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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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-2025-67521 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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