CVE-2026-28020
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 Chroma chroma allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Chroma: from n/a through <= 1.11.
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 · high confidenceA PHP Local File Inclusion vulnerability exists in the ThemeREX Chroma theme where user-supplied input is used in include/require statements without proper validation. This allows attackers to include arbitrary PHP files from the server's filesystem, potentially leading to remote code execution if they can write files to accessible locations or poison log 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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Identify ThemeREX Chroma theme installationSearch the web server's themes directory for 'chroma' or 'themerex' directory. Common paths include /wp-content/themes/ for WordPress or /themes/ for other PHP applications.Affected if The ThemeREX Chroma theme is present on the server
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Determine installed theme versionLocate the theme's style.css or version file within the theme directory and read the version declaration header.Affected if The installed version is unknown, unpatched, or falls within a vulnerable version range
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Locate include/require statements using user inputSearch theme PHP files for patterns like 'include($_GET' or 'require($_REQUEST' without proper sanitization. Use grep: grep -rn '\$_GET\|\$_REQUEST\|\$_POST' *.php | grep -i 'include\|require'Affected if User-supplied parameters (GET/POST/COOKIE) are used directly in include or require statements without validation like basename() or allowlist checks
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Verify lack of input sanitizationExamine the identified include/require code paths to confirm there is no basename(), realpath(), or allowlist validation applied to the user input before inclusion.Affected if The included file path uses raw user input without basename(), realpath(), or allowlist filtering
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Check file permissions on writable directoriesReview web server user permissions on directories like /tmp, /var/log, or upload folders that may be writable by the web server process.Affected if The web server can write to directories that contain PHP files accessible via the LFI vulnerability
You are affected if the ThemeREX Chroma theme is installed and uses unsanitized user input in include/require statements, allowing attackers to include arbitrary local PHP files.
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 dataSanitize and validate all input used in include/require statements using an allowlist approach, apply basename() to strip directory traversal sequences, and ensure the web server runs with minimal file system permissions.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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 $3,088.
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-28020 — 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-2026-28020 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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