CVE-2026-22421
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 AncoraThemes Quantum quantum allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Quantum: from n/a through <= 1.0.
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 confidenceLocal File Inclusion vulnerability in AncoraThemes Quantum theme allows attackers to control file inclusion parameters in PHP include/require statements, potentially enabling remote code execution by including malicious PHP files from the server.
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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Locate Quantum theme installationSearch for the theme directory in the web root. Check common paths like /wp-content/themes/quantum/ or similar. Look for style.css with 'Theme Name: Quantum' or files with 'AncoraThemes' branding in headers.Affected if Quantum theme by AncoraThemes is found in the web application directories
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Identify theme versionOpen the theme's style.css file and look for 'Version:' declaration in the CSS comment header. Also check functions.php for version constants. Compare against any vendor release notes.Affected if Version cannot be verified as patched or falls within an affected version range
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Search for file inclusion functions with user inputGrep all PHP files in the theme directory for patterns like 'include(', 'require(', 'include_once(', 'require_once(' combined with $_GET, $_POST, $_REQUEST, or $_COOKIE variables. Example vulnerable pattern: include($_GET['page']);Affected if PHP code uses include/require with direct user-supplied input from request parameters
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Inspect file inclusion parameter handlingExamine the specific parameters used in include/require statements (e.g., 'file', 'page', 'template', 'path', 'view'). Check if they are validated, sanitized, or use allowlists before being used in file operations.Affected if File inclusion parameters accept arbitrary input without validation or allowlist checks
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Check for directory traversal vectorsLook for patterns like '../' or encoded variations (%2e%2e%2f) being passed to file inclusion functions. Test if parameters accept absolute paths or paths outside the theme directory.Affected if Parameters allow directory traversal or absolute path inclusion
A user is affected if the AncoraThemes Quantum theme is installed and contains PHP code that directly uses unsanitized request parameters in include/require statements, allowing controlled file inclusion.
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 dataImplement strict allowlist-based input validation on all file inclusion parameters and avoid using user-supplied input directly in include/require statements; update to patched version if available.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-22421 — 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-2026-22421 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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