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

CVE-2026-22418

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-03-05
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 AncoraThemes Great Lotus great-lotus allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Great Lotus: from n/a through <= 1.3.1.

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 confidence

Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability in the Great Lotus WordPress theme by AncoraThemes allows attackers to include arbitrary PHP files from the server filesystem via improperly controlled filename parameters in include/require statements. This can lead to remote code execution if attackers can control the included files.

MitigationUpdate to a patched version of Great Lotus if available; otherwise, implement strict input validation using basename() and whitelist approaches on all include/require statements, disable allow_url_include in php.ini, and review code for additional vulnerable file inclusion paths.

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 Great Lotus theme installation
    Inspect the WordPress themes directory (wp-content/themes/) for a folder named 'great-lotus' or 'greatlotus', or query the WordPress database wp_options table for the active_theme option
    Affected if Great Lotus theme by AncoraThemes is present in the WordPress installation
  2. Identify installed theme version
    Locate the theme version in the Great Lotus style.css file header (look for 'Version:' field), or in a readme.txt file within the theme folder
    Affected if Theme version cannot be determined or matches an unpatched release
  3. Locate dynamic file inclusion code
    Search PHP files within the Great Lotus theme folder for include(), require(), include_once(), or require_once() statements that use variables or superglobal arrays (e.g., include($file), require($_GET['path'])) without basename() wrapping or whitelist validation
    Affected if Any include/require statement uses unsanitized user-controlled input as the filename
  4. Verify input validation on file inclusion
    Examine identified include/require statements to confirm whether the filename parameter passes through basename(), pathinfo(), or a whitelist check before use
    Affected if File inclusion code lacks basename() sanitization or whitelist filtering on the filename parameter

Environment is affected if Great Lotus theme is installed and contains include/require statements that use unsanitized variables or parameters for file paths.

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 to a patched version of Great Lotus if available; otherwise, implement strict input validation using basename() and whitelist approaches on all include/require statements, disable allow_url_include in php.ini, and review code for additional vulnerable file inclusion paths.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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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-2026-22418 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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