CVE-2025-68536
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 thembay Zota zota allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Zota: from n/a through <= 1.3.14.
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 confidenceLocal File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability in thembay Zota theme/plugin allows attackers to manipulate filename parameters in PHP include/require statements to read sensitive local files from the server. The improper control of the filename variable enables directory traversal attacks.
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Zota theme or plugin installationSearch for files named 'zota' or directories containing 'zota' in your web root (e.g., /wp-content/themes/zota, /wp-content/plugins/zota, or similar paths). Use: find /var/www -type d -iname '*zota*' 2>/dev/nullAffected if Zota theme or plugin directory exists on the server
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Determine Zota versionCheck version files such as style.css in theme directories (look for 'Version:' header), readme.txt, or plugin main file headers. Compare against any known patched version numbers from thembay sources.Affected if Installed version is older than the patched release and cannot be determined to be updated
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Locate vulnerable include/require statementsSearch PHP files in the Zota installation for include, require, include_once, or require_once statements that use variable parameters without sanitization. Use: grep -rn '\$.*include\|require' /path/to/zota/ 2>/dev/nullAffected if Code contains dynamic file inclusion using unsanitized variables like include($file) or require($_GET['filename'])
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Check for directory traversal in request parametersExamine PHP files handling file requests. Look for code paths where $_GET, $_POST, or $_REQUEST parameters are used directly in file operations without validation like basename(), realpath(), or whitelist checks.Affected if File parameter inputs accept paths with '../' sequences or absolute paths without validation
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Review access logs for exploitation attemptsCheck web server access logs (Apache, Nginx) for requests to Zota pages containing suspicious patterns like 'filename=../../', 'filename=/etc/passwd', or similar directory traversal attempts.Affected if Logs show directory traversal requests targeting Zota endpoints
You are affected if Zota theme/plugin is installed and contains dynamic file inclusion code that uses unvalidated user input in include/require statements, enabling directory traversal.
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 the latest patched version of Zota. If unavailable, implement strict input validation using whitelist approach for file paths and disable allow_url_fopen/allow_url_include in PHP configuration.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-68536 — 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-2025-68536 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
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