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

CVE-2026-22428

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 Tooth Fairy tooth-fairy allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Tooth Fairy: from n/a through <= 1.16.

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

A Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability in the Tooth Fairy WordPress plugin by AncoraThemes allows unauthenticated attackers to include arbitrary local files from the server via improper validation of file paths in PHP include/require statements. This can expose sensitive system files, configuration files, and other critical data.

MitigationUpdate to a patched version of Tooth Fairy when available. Until then, disable the plugin or implement web application firewall rules to block directory traversal patterns in request parameters.

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 Tooth Fairy plugin is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Tooth Fairy' by AncoraThemes, or check the /wp-content/plugins/ directory for a tooth-fairy folder
    Affected if The plugin is installed and active
  2. Identify the installed plugin version
    In WordPress admin, click on the Tooth Fairy plugin to view its details and version number, or read the main plugin PHP file header for the Version field
    Affected if The installed version is unknown, unpatched, or falls within any vulnerable version range
  3. Verify the plugin exposes file inclusion functionality
    Check the plugin PHP files (typically in the main plugin file or includes directory) for any include/require statements that use user-supplied parameters without sanitization, looking for patterns like include($_GET['file']) or similar dynamic file inclusion
    Affected if The plugin code contains include/require statements that incorporate request parameters without proper path validation
  4. Test for directory traversal exposure
    If the plugin accepts file parameters via GET/POST requests, attempt a benign traversal test (e.g., parameter=value with ../../../../etc/passwd or similar path) on a non-production test instance, or review server access logs for traversal patterns directed at the plugin endpoints
    Affected if The plugin accepts and processes file path parameters that allow directory traversal sequences
  5. Check for signs of exploitation in access logs
    Review web server access logs (Apache error.log, Nginx access.log) and WordPress audit logs for repeated requests containing ../ sequences targeting the Tooth Fairy plugin endpoints
    Affected if Logs show directory traversal attempts or suspicious file inclusion requests targeting the plugin

You are affected if the Tooth Fairy plugin by AncoraThemes is installed and its file inclusion functionality allows unauthenticated users to manipulate file paths via request parameters without proper validation.

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 Tooth Fairy when available. Until then, disable the plugin or implement web application firewall rules to block directory traversal patterns in request parameters.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2026-22428 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
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