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

CVE-2025-69005

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-01-22
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 Elated-Themes Search & Go search-and-go allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Search & Go: from n/a through <= 2.8.

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 Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability in the Elated-Themes Search & Go WordPress plugin/theme. The vulnerability allows attackers to manipulate file include statements to read sensitive local files from the server, potentially exposing configuration files, credentials, or other sensitive data.

MitigationUpdate Search & Go to the latest patched version from the vendor. If no patch is available, disable the plugin/theme immediately and implement WAF rules to block directory traversal patterns (e.g., ../, etc.) in HTTP requests.

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. Verify Elated-Themes Search & Go is installed
    Check your WordPress site's plugins directory or theme list for 'Search & Go' by Elated-Themes. In WordPress admin, go to Plugins or Appearance > Themes to confirm presence.
    Affected if The plugin or theme named 'Search & Go' or 'elated-themes search' is found installed on the WordPress site
  2. Identify the installed version
    In WordPress admin, click on the Search & Go plugin to view its details, or check the plugin file header in wp-content/plugins/search-and-go/ or theme directory for the 'Version' field. Compare this version number to the vendor's latest patched version.
    Affected if The installed version is older than the latest patched version released by the vendor for this vulnerability
  3. Confirm the search/include feature is accessible
    Identify if the plugin exposes any search, include, or template functionality that accepts file path parameters. Check the plugin's publicly accessible endpoints (typically in /?s= or custom AJAX handlers) to see if they accept path or file parameters.
    Affected if The plugin's search or include functionality is active and accessible via HTTP requests without authentication
  4. Inspect for directory traversal in requests
    Review your web server access logs (Apache access.log, Nginx access.log) and WordPress debug logs for any requests containing '../' or absolute file paths (e.g., ../../../../etc/passwd) targeting the Search & Go plugin endpoints.
    Affected if Logs show requests with directory traversal patterns (/../) directed at the plugin's file inclusion functions
  5. Check for unauthorized file access
    Examine the web server's document root and any accessible directories for new or unexpected file reads. Look for evidence of sensitive file access in logs, such as requests for wp-config.php, .htaccess, or other configuration files through the plugin.
    Affected if Evidence exists in logs or on disk that local files were accessed via the plugin's vulnerable parameter

You are affected if the Search & Go plugin/theme is installed, the version is unpatched, and its file inclusion feature is accessible and accepting user-controlled path parameters.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update Search & Go to the latest patched version from the vendor. If no patch is available, disable the plugin/theme immediately and implement WAF rules to block directory traversal patterns (e.g., ../, etc.) in HTTP requests.

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-2025-69005 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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