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

CVE-2026-28052

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 Peter Mason petermason allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Peter Mason: from n/a through <= 1.4.5.

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

PHP Local File Inclusion vulnerability in the ThemeREX Peter Mason WordPress theme allows remote attackers to include arbitrary PHP files via improper validation of user-supplied input to include/require statements. This can lead to remote code execution.

MitigationUpdate Peter Mason theme to latest version if available, or disable/replace the theme if unmaintained. Implement strict input validation and allowlist-based file inclusion controls.

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. Confirm Peter Mason theme installation
    List contents of wp-content/themes/ directory or check WordPress admin under Appearance > Themes for a theme named Peter Mason, Peter Mason ThemeREX, or similar
    Affected if The ThemeREX Peter Mason theme folder exists in the themes directory
  2. Identify theme version
    Open the theme's style.css file in wp-content/themes/[peter-mason-folder]/ and locate the 'Version:' header in the CSS comment block at the top
    Affected if Version number is present and can be compared to the fixed version (contact theme vendor for specific version)
  3. Check for include/require with user input
    Search all PHP files in the theme folder for patterns like 'include($_', 'require($_', 'include_once($_', 'require_once($_' followed by $_GET, $_POST, $_REQUEST, or similar superglobals
    Affected if Theme files contain include/require statements that directly use unsanitized user-supplied input
  4. Verify vulnerable parameter handling
    Examine identified include/require calls to confirm the user input parameter (e.g., '?file=', '?page=') is used in the file path without validation, sanitization, or allowlist checks
    Affected if User-controlled parameters are passed directly to file inclusion functions without validation or sanitization
  5. Confirm theme is accessible
    Attempt to access the site with a crafted parameter like '?file=../../wp-config.php' or similar to test if arbitrary file inclusion is possible
    Affected if The vulnerability is exploitable and the site responds with file contents or errors revealing inclusion behavior

User is affected if the ThemeREX Peter Mason theme is installed and active, and theme PHP files contain include/require statements that use unsanitized user input from $_GET, $_POST, or $_REQUEST parameters.

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

Update Peter Mason theme to latest version if available, or disable/replace the theme if unmaintained. Implement strict input validation and allowlist-based file inclusion controls.

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-2026-28052 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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