CVE-2025-68537
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 confidenceThis is a Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability in thembay Zota (zota) where improper control of filenames in PHP include/require statements allows attackers to include arbitrary local PHP files. The lack of input validation on file path parameters enables reading sensitive files or potentially achieving code execution if an attacker can control included files.
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify thembay Zota installationSearch for files, directories, or web application signatures matching 'zota' or 'thembay Zota' in your web root, package manager listings, or application inventoryAffected if The system has thembay Zota software installed
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Determine installed Zota versionCheck version file, composer.json, header comments in PHP files, or admin panel about/version page for the exact version numberAffected if The installed version is 1.3.14 or lower
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Locate PHP include/require statementsSearch PHP source files for 'include', 'require', 'include_once', or 'require_once' statements that reference variables in the file path (e.g., include($_GET['file']) or include($path . 'file.php'))Affected if Unvalidated user input is used directly in include/require statements
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Inspect file path parameter handlingReview PHP files that accept file path parameters via GET/POST requests and trace how those parameters are used in include/require callsAffected if File path parameters from requests are not validated against an allowlist before being included
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Test for path traversal vulnerabilityAttempt to include a known local file (e.g., ../../../../etc/passwd or ../../config.php) via the affected parameter to confirm the LFI is exploitableAffected if The application returns content from arbitrary local files based on user-supplied path input
The environment is affected if thembay Zota version 1.3.14 or lower is running and includes PHP files using unvalidated user-supplied file path parameters.
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 dataUpgrade to a version beyond 1.3.14 if available; otherwise implement strict input validation and allowlisting on all include/require statements to prevent path traversal, and ensure PHP execution is disabled in upload directories.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $3,984.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-68537 — 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-2025-68537 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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