CVE-2026-22503
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 ThemeREX Nelson nelson allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Nelson: from n/a through <= 1.2.0.
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 confidenceThemeREX Nelson WordPress theme <= 1.2.0 contains a PHP Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability where the application improperly controls filenames used in include/require statements. This allows authenticated or unauthenticated attackers to include arbitrary PHP files from the local server, potentially leading to remote code execution if they can write malicious files or access sensitive system files.
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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Confirm ThemeREX Nelson theme is installedNavigate to wp-content/themes/ in your WordPress installation directory and check for a folder named 'nelson' or 'theme-rex-nelson'. Alternatively, in WordPress admin go to Appearance > Themes to list installed themes.Affected if The ThemeREX Nelson theme folder exists in the themes directory.
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Determine the installed theme versionOpen the style.css file within the nelson theme folder and look for the 'Version:' header in the file comments, or check the theme's main PHP file for a version constant.Affected if The version number found is 1.2.0 or lower.
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Identify vulnerable include/require patterns in theme filesSearch all PHP files in the nelson theme folder for code that uses include, require, include_once, or require_once with variables derived from request parameters (such as $_GET, $_POST, or $_REQUEST) without proper sanitization. Common patterns include 'include($_GET["file"])' or 'require($theme_dir . $_POST["template"])'.Affected if Any PHP file in the theme contains include/require statements using unsanitized user input in the file path.
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Check for directory traversal in theme routingExamine the theme's index.php or any routing files for code that processes page templates or components based on URL parameters. Look for patterns where a parameter value is directly appended to a path and used in include/require.Affected if The theme routes requests through parameters that are used in include/require statements without validation.
Your environment is affected if the ThemeREX Nelson theme version is 1.2.0 or lower AND the theme contains code that uses include/require with unsanitized user-controlled input for file paths.
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 dataUpdate ThemeREX Nelson to the latest patched version immediately. If no update is available, remove the theme or implement WAF rules to block directory traversal patterns in requests. Audit the codebase for unsafe use of include/require with user-controlled input.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-22503 — 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-2026-22503 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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