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

CVE-2025-69402

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-02-20
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 ThemeREX R&F rf allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects R&F: from n/a through <= 1.5.

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

A Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability exists in the ThemeREX R&F rf theme where user-supplied input is used in PHP include/require statements without proper validation, allowing attackers to read sensitive local files on the server.

MitigationImplement strict input validation and use a whitelist approach for file inclusions; replace dynamic file includes with predefined file paths or use basename() to strip directory traversal sequences.

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. Confirm ThemeREX R&F rf theme installation
    Check your WordPress theme directory (wp-content/themes/) for a folder named 'rf' or 'theme-rex-rf' or similar ThemeREX theme folders. Look for theme style.css or functions.php files that identify this specific theme.
    Affected if The ThemeREX R&F rf theme folder exists in the themes directory.
  2. Identify installed theme version
    Open the style.css file in the theme folder and locate the 'Version:' comment header. Compare this version number to any official ThemeREX release notes or changelogs for this theme.
    Affected if The installed version matches the version range where CVE-2025-69402 was reported (check ThemeREX advisories for specific version details).
  3. Locate PHP include/require statements using dynamic input
    Search the theme PHP files (especially functions.php, template files, and any files handling page requests) for patterns like 'include($_GET[', 'require($_GET[', 'include($_POST[', 'require($_REQUEST[', or similar dynamic includes using superglobal arrays without sanitization.
    Affected if PHP files contain include/require statements that directly use $_GET, $_POST, $_REQUEST, or similar user-supplied input without validation.
  4. Inspect the vulnerable parameter handling
    Examine the identified include/require statements: check if the user-supplied parameter (e.g., ?file=something, ?template=something) is passed directly to include/require without functions like basename(), realpath(), or whitelist validation.
    Affected if The parameter used in include/require is used directly or with minimal string manipulation but lacks strict path validation.

If the ThemeREX R&F rf theme is installed and its PHP files contain direct use of user input in include/require statements without proper validation, the environment is likely affected by CVE-2025-69402.

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

Implement strict input validation and use a whitelist approach for file inclusions; replace dynamic file includes with predefined file paths or use basename() to strip directory traversal sequences.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2025-69402 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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