Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-53430

High

Published: 18 December 2025

Published
18 December 2025
Modified
15 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 0.0042 32.9th percentile
Risk Priority 16 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2025-53430 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 32.9th 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-2025-53430 is an Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program vulnerability, classified as a PHP Remote File Inclusion issue that enables PHP Local File Inclusion, affecting the AncoraThemes Etta WordPress theme in versions from n/a through 1.14.0. Published on 2025-12-18, it is associated with CWE-98 and carries 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 high severity due to its potential for significant impact despite elevated complexity.

Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this vulnerability remotely over the network, requiring high attack complexity but no privileges or user interaction. Successful exploitation allows arbitrary local file inclusion, potentially resulting in high confidentiality impacts through data disclosure, high integrity impacts via file manipulation, and high availability impacts such as denial of service.

The Patchstack advisory provides details on this Local File Inclusion vulnerability in the Etta theme version 1.14.0, including mitigation guidance: https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Theme/etta/vulnerability/wordpress-etta-theme-1-14-0-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 Etta etta allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Etta: from n/a through <= 1.14.0.

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?

LFI vulnerability in public-facing WordPress theme enables exploitation of public-facing applications (T1190) and disclosure of data from local system via file inclusion (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-2 Flaw Remediation good match
prevent

Directly mitigates the LFI vulnerability by requiring timely patching of the flawed PHP include/require logic in the Etta theme.

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match
prevent

Prevents exploitation by enforcing validation of user-supplied filenames used in PHP include/require statements to block malicious local file paths.

CM-6 Configuration Settings partial match
prevent

Limits impact through secure PHP configuration settings like open_basedir restrictions that constrain file access paths even if input validation fails.

References