Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-53204

High

Published: 20 August 2025

Published
20 August 2025
Modified
23 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 0.0016 36.4th percentile
Risk Priority 16 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2025-53204 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 36.4th 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-2025-53204 is an Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program vulnerability, known as PHP Remote File Inclusion, that enables PHP Local File Inclusion in the eventlist WordPress plugin by ovatheme. This issue affects eventlist versions from n/a through 1.9.2 and is associated with CWE-98.

The vulnerability has 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), indicating exploitation is possible over the network by unauthenticated attackers with no user interaction required, though it demands high attack complexity. Successful exploitation can result in high impacts to confidentiality, integrity, and availability, potentially allowing attackers to include and execute local files on the server.

Patchstack's advisory at https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Plugin/eventlist/vulnerability/wordpress-eventlist-1-9-2-local-file-inclusion-vulnerability?_s_id=cve details the Local File Inclusion vulnerability in WordPress eventlist version 1.9.2.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability details

Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in ovatheme eventlist eventlist allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects eventlist: from n/a through <= 1.9.2.

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 →
Why these techniques?

LFI vulnerability in public-facing WordPress plugin directly enables exploitation of a web application for arbitrary file inclusion and code execution.

Confidence: HIGH · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v18.1

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-28087Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-23952Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-32505Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-48149Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-60058Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-49994Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-24531Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-67527Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-69396Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-62067Shared CWE-98

Affected Assets

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SI-2 Flaw Remediation good match
prevent

Directly addresses the CVE by requiring timely remediation of the known PHP Local File Inclusion flaw in the eventlist WordPress plugin through patching or upgrades.

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match
prevent

Enforces validation of user-supplied filenames used in PHP include/require statements to prevent improper control leading to local file inclusion.

CM-6 Configuration Settings partial match
prevent

Establishes secure PHP configuration settings like disabling allow_url_include and enforcing open_basedir restrictions to mitigate file inclusion vulnerabilities.

References