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

CVE-2026-27987

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 ThemeREX The Qlean the-qlean allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects The Qlean: from n/a through <= 2.12.

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 · high confidence

Local File Inclusion vulnerability in ThemeREX The Qlean theme allows attackers to control filename parameters in PHP include/require statements, potentially enabling remote code execution by including malicious local PHP files.

MitigationUpgrade to the latest version of The Qlean theme (2.13+) which should contain proper input validation for include/require statements, or remove/disable the vulnerable theme if no patch is available.

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. Identify the installed ThemeREX The Qlean theme version
    Access the WordPress installation directory and locate the theme folder (typically /wp-content/themes/the-qlean/). Open the style.css file in the theme root and look for the 'Version:' declaration in the file header comments.
    Affected if The version listed is 2.12 or lower.
  2. Verify the vulnerable include/require pattern exists
    Search within the theme directory for PHP files that contain include, include_once, require, or require_once statements which use variables or request parameters as the file path (e.g., include($file), include($_GET['file']). Use grep or manually inspect PHP files in the theme folder.
    Affected if The theme code contains dynamic file inclusion statements that use unsanitized input from $_GET, $_POST, or other user-controlled sources.
  3. Confirm the path traversal attack surface
    Review the identified vulnerable include/require code paths to determine if the application accepts file paths that could be manipulated with ../ sequences to traverse outside the intended directory.
    Affected if The file inclusion logic does not validate or sanitize input to prevent directory traversal sequences.
  4. Check web server access logs for exploitation attempts
    Review Apache, Nginx, or other web server access logs for requests to the WordPress site that contain ../ patterns in query parameters, particularly targeting PHP files within the theme directory.
    Affected if Logs show path traversal attempts (e.g., ?file=../../wp-config.php) targeting the theme's file inclusion functionality.

You are affected if the The Qlean theme version is 2.12 or lower AND the theme contains dynamic file inclusion code that processes unsanitized user input, allowing path traversal.

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

Upgrade to the latest version of The Qlean theme (2.13+) which should contain proper input validation for include/require statements, or remove/disable the vulnerable theme if no patch is available.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2026-27987 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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