CVE-2026-23801
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 fuelthemes The Issue theissue allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects The Issue: from n/a through <= 1.6.11.
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 confidenceA PHP Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability in the fuelthemes The Issue theme allows attackers to include arbitrary local files via improperly validated user input in include/require statements. This can lead to information disclosure of sensitive files (e.g., /etc/passwd, configuration files) and potentially remote code execution if attackers can upload files to accessible locations.
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.
-
Identify if The Issue theme by fuelthemes is installedInspect your WordPress theme directory for the theme folder named 'the-issue' or similar, and check the theme's style.css or functions.php for the theme name and version declarationAffected if The Issue theme by fuelthemes is present in the WordPress theme directory
-
Locate include/require statements that accept user inputSearch theme PHP files (particularly in plugin files or template files) for patterns like include($_GET[...]), require($_REQUEST[...]), or similar where user-controlled parameters are used directly in include/require statementsAffected if Code exists where $_GET, $_POST, $_REQUEST, or similar superglobals are directly passed to include or require functions without sanitization
-
Check for vulnerable path traversal in include statementsReview PHP files in the theme for include/require statements that concatenate user input with file paths, such as include($path . $_GET['file']) or similar dynamic file loading patternsAffected if Dynamic file inclusion logic exists that uses unsanitized user input to construct file paths
-
Verify if the vulnerable code handles file extensionsInspect whether the include/require statements append .php or enforce any file extension, as unrestricted LFI allows any file type to be included (e.g., /etc/passwd)Affected if No file extension whitelist or validation is applied before including files, allowing arbitrary file types to be read
-
Check web server logs for suspicious include/require requestsReview access logs for patterns like ?file=../../etc/passwd or ?page=../../wp-config indicating attempts to exploit LFIAffected if Exploitation attempts are present in logs, indicating active targeting of the LFI vulnerability
If The Issue theme is installed and contains direct use of user input in include/require statements without sanitization, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2026-23801.
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 to a patched version of The Issue theme. If immediate patching is unavailable, implement input validation/witelisting on all include/require parameters and consider disabling allow_url_include.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-23801 — 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-2026-23801 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data