Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-49363

High

Published: 18 December 2025

Published
18 December 2025
Modified
27 April 2026
KEV Added
—
Patch
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CVSS Score v3.1 8.1 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0056 41.8th percentile
Risk Priority 17 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2025-49363 is a high-severity PHP Remote File Inclusion (CWE-98) vulnerability. Its CVSS base score is 8.1 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 41.8th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).

Deeper analysis

CVE-2025-49363 is an Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program vulnerability, classified as PHP Remote File Inclusion but enabling PHP Local File Inclusion, in the AncoraThemes Kings & Queens WordPress theme (kings-queens). This issue affects all versions from n/a through 1.1.16 and is associated with CWE-98. The vulnerability was published on 2025-12-18 with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.1 (AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

The vulnerability can be exploited by unauthenticated attackers (PR:N) over the network (AV:N) without requiring user interaction (UI:N), though it demands high attack complexity (AC:H). Successful exploitation allows attackers to achieve high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H), potentially enabling local file inclusion to access or manipulate sensitive server files.

Mitigation details are available in advisories such as the Patchstack database entry: https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Theme/kings-queens/vulnerability/wordpress-kings-queens-theme-1-1-16-local-file-inclusion-vulnerability?_s_id=cve.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability details

Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in AncoraThemes Kings & Queens kings-queens allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Kings & Queens: from n/a through <= 1.1.16.

CWE(s)
CWE-98

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1005 Data from Local System Collection
Adversaries may search local system sources, such as file systems, configuration files, local databases, virtual machine files, or process memory, to find files of interest and sensitive data prior to Exfiltration.
attack.mitre.org →
Why these techniques?

Public-facing WordPress theme vulnerability exploitable remotely without authentication (T1190). Enables local file inclusion for accessing sensitive local files (T1005).

Confidence: HIGH · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-58901Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-28020Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-58940Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-49362Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-69046Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-64373Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-58899Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-49383Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-58936Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-28089Shared CWE-98

Affected Assets

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match
prevent

Directly addresses improper control of filenames in PHP include/require by enforcing validation of user inputs to prevent path traversal and local file inclusion exploitation.

SI-2 Flaw Remediation good match
preventrecover

Requires timely patching or replacement of the vulnerable Kings & Queens WordPress theme (versions <=1.1.16) to remediate the specific PHP LFI flaw.

SC-7 Boundary Protection partial match
preventdetect

Boundary protection mechanisms like web application firewalls monitor and block network requests containing malicious file paths targeting the LFI vulnerability.

References