CVE-2025-53436

High

Published: 18 December 2025

Published

18 December 2025

Modified

15 April 2026

KEV Added

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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 0.0044 35.2th percentile

Risk Priority 16 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2025-53436 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 35.2th 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-2025-53436 is an Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program vulnerability, classified as PHP Remote File Inclusion, that allows PHP Local File Inclusion in the BZOTheme Monki WordPress theme. This issue affects Monki versions from n/a through 2.0.5 and is associated with CWE-98. The vulnerability 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 network-based exploitation.

An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability over the network without requiring user interaction, though it demands high attack complexity. Successful exploitation enables the attacker to achieve high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, typically through local file inclusion to read sensitive files or potentially execute arbitrary code on the server.

The Patchstack advisory at https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Theme/monki/vulnerability/wordpress-monki-theme-2-0-4-local-file-inclusion-vulnerability?_s_id=cve provides details on the local file inclusion vulnerability in the WordPress Monki theme.

EU & UK References

🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2025-204214

Vulnerability details

Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in BZOTheme Monki monki allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Monki: from n/a through <= 2.0.5.

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 exploitation of a local file inclusion vulnerability in a public-facing WordPress theme directly maps to T1190: Exploit Public-Facing Application.

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