CVE-2026-27997
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 Maxify maxify allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Maxify: from n/a through <= 1.0.16.
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 confidenceThis is a PHP Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability in the ThemeREX Maxify WordPress theme. The improper control of filename parameters in include/require statements allows attackers to include arbitrary local PHP files, potentially leading to remote code execution.
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 Maxify theme is installedNavigate to Appearance > Themes in WordPress admin, or inspect wp-content/themes/ directory for the maxify folder. Check the theme header in style.css for the Version field.Affected if ThemeREX Maxify theme is present in the WordPress installation
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Identify the installed theme versionOpen wp-content/themes/maxify/style.css and locate the 'Version:' line in the theme header comment. Compare this version number against any official changelog or release notes from ThemeREX.Affected if The installed version is unknown, unpatched, or older than the latest available version
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Locate vulnerable include/require patternsSearch theme PHP files for dynamic include/require statements using grep or similar: grep -r 'include\|require' wp-content/themes/maxify/ | grep '\$_GET\|\$_POST\|\$_REQUEST\|\$_COOKIE'Affected if Files contain include/require statements that use superglobal variables without sanitization
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Check for directory traversal in theme filesInspect the specific include/require patterns found for path traversal vectors: look for '..' or direct concatenation of user input into file paths.Affected if Code allows path traversal sequences (../) to be injected via request parameters
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Review web server access logs for exploitation attemptsExamine Apache/nginx access logs for requests to theme files containing patterns like '?file=../' or '?path=../' targeting the maxify theme directory.Affected if Logs show attempted or successful LFI exploitation attempts targeting the theme
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Check for unauthorized file modificationsCompare theme files against a known clean backup or verify file integrity. Look for recently modified PHP files in wp-content/themes/maxify/ that were not intentionally updated.Affected if PHP files have been modified outside of normal updates, or webshell backdoors are present
A user is affected if the ThemeREX Maxify theme is installed and its code contains dynamic include/require statements using unsanitized user input, or if exploitation attempts are visible in logs.
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 Maxify to the latest version if available; otherwise disable the theme/plugin until a patch is released. Implement web application firewall rules to block directory traversal patterns in HTTP requests.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,272.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-27997 — 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-2026-27997 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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- 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
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