CVE-2025-68545
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 Nika nika allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Nika: from n/a through <= 1.2.14.
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 · moderate confidenceA PHP Local File Inclusion vulnerability exists in thembay Nika theme (versions <= 1.2.14) where the application improperly handles filenames in include/require statements. Attackers can potentially read sensitive local files on the server by manipulating file path parameters, potentially exposing configuration files like wp-config.php containing database credentials.
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 Nika theme installationLocate the theme directory (typically wp-content/themes/nika or similar path under web root) and check for the presence of theme files such as style.css which contains the theme version metadata in the header comment.Affected if The Nika theme files are present on the server and the version declared in style.css is 1.2.14 or lower.
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Check theme version directlyOpen the theme's main style.css file or functions.php and look for the version declaration in the theme header comment or a version constant.Affected if The version number found is 1.2.14 or any version lower than that.
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Locate include/require statementsSearch the theme's PHP files (particularly in includes/, inc/, or template files) for include, include_once, require, or require_once statements that use variables or parameters in the file path without sanitization.Affected if Any include/require statements accept user-controlled input (e.g., from $_GET, $_POST, or request parameters) without proper validation or path sanitization.
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Identify the vulnerable parameterExamine the identified include/require statements to find which parameter controls the file path; look for patterns like include($_GET['file']) or require($requested_file).Affected if A parameter that can be manipulated (via URL or form input) is used directly in include/require without validation such as basename(), realpath(), or allowlist checks.
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Check for directory traversal in codeReview the code handling file path parameters to see if it prevents traversal sequences like ../ or ..\; absence of such checks means the vulnerability is present.Affected if The code does not strip or validate directory traversal sequences before using the parameter in include/require.
You are affected if the Nika theme version is 1.2.14 or lower and the theme code contains include/require statements using user-supplied file path parameters without proper validation to prevent 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 the Nika theme to the latest version which should contain patches for this vulnerability. If no update is available, audit the theme code for vulnerable include/require statements and implement strict input validation/allowlisting to prevent directory traversal attacks.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-68545 — 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-2025-68545 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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