CVE-2025-53453
Published: 18 December 2025
Summary
CVE-2025-53453 is a high-severity PHP Remote File Inclusion (CWE-98) vulnerability in Axiomthemes Hygia. 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 43.8th 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).
Threat & Defense at a Glance
Threat & Defense Details
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI
Remediating the known PHP Local File Inclusion flaw in the Hygia WordPress theme by applying vendor patches directly eliminates the vulnerability.
Validating filenames passed to PHP include/require statements prevents attackers from supplying malicious paths that enable local file inclusion.
Enforcing restrictive PHP configuration settings like open_basedir and allow_url_include=Off limits the scope of file access even if input validation fails.
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Public-facing WordPress theme vulnerability enables exploitation (T1190); LFI facilitates reading local files for data collection (T1005) and file discovery (T1083).
NVD Description
Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in axiomthemes Hygia hygia allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Hygia: from n/a through <= 1.16.
Deeper analysisAI
CVE-2025-53453 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 axiomthemes Hygia WordPress theme. This issue affects Hygia versions from n/a through 1.16, as documented 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 network accessibility and significant impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
An unauthenticated attacker with network access can exploit this vulnerability despite high attack complexity and no required user interaction. Successful exploitation allows local file inclusion, potentially granting access to sensitive files or enabling further compromise such as code execution, aligning with the high impact metrics in the CVSS score.
The Patchstack advisory at https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Theme/hygia/vulnerability/wordpress-hygia-theme-1-16-local-file-inclusion-vulnerability?_s_id=cve details the local file inclusion vulnerability in the Hygia WordPress theme version 1.16, serving as a primary reference for practitioners to review mitigation guidance, such as theme updates or protective configurations.
Details
- CWE(s)