Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-53252

High

Published: 06 November 2025

Published
06 November 2025
Modified
27 April 2026
KEV Added
—
Patch
—
CVSS Score v3.1 7.5 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0012 31.0th percentile
Risk Priority 15 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2025-53252 is a high-severity PHP Remote File Inclusion (CWE-98) vulnerability. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 31.0th 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-2025-53252 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 Zegen WordPress theme developed by zozothemes. This issue affects Zegen versions from n/a through 1.1.9.

The vulnerability carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (High), with an attack vector of Network (AV:N), high attack complexity (AC:H), low privileges required (PR:L), no user interaction (UI:N), unchanged scope (S:U), and high impacts to confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H). It is associated with CWE-98. Attackers with low privileges, such as authenticated users, can exploit it over the network with high complexity to achieve local file inclusion, potentially leading to unauthorized file access, modification, or execution depending on server configuration.

Mitigation details are available in the Patchstack advisory at https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Theme/zegen/vulnerability/wordpress-zegen-theme-1-1-9-local-file-inclusion-vulnerability?_s_id=cve. The vulnerability was published on 2025-11-06T16:15:56.010.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability details

Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in zozothemes Zegen zegen allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Zegen: from n/a through <= 1.1.9.

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?

Unauthenticated remote Local File Inclusion vulnerability in a public-facing WordPress theme directly enables exploitation of public-facing applications.

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

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-10 Information Input Validation good match
prevent

Directly mitigates the improper control of filenames in PHP include/require statements by requiring validation of user-supplied inputs to prevent local file inclusion.

SI-2 Flaw Remediation good match
prevent

Ensures timely identification, reporting, and correction of the specific flaw in Zegen WordPress theme versions through 1.1.9.

CM-6 Configuration Settings partial match
prevent

Enforces secure PHP configuration settings such as open_basedir restrictions to limit the scope of local file inclusion even if application validation fails.

References