Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-60042

High

Published: 18 December 2025

Published
18 December 2025
Modified
27 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-2025-60042 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 RA-5 (Vulnerability Monitoring and Scanning) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation).

Deeper analysis

CVE-2025-60042 is an Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement vulnerability, classified under CWE-98 as a PHP Remote File Inclusion issue that enables PHP Local File Inclusion in the AncoraThemes Chinchilla WordPress theme. This flaw affects Chinchilla versions from n/a through 1.16 inclusive. Published on 2025-12-18, it 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.

Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this vulnerability remotely over the network, requiring high attack complexity but no privileges or user interaction. Successful exploitation allows local file inclusion, potentially enabling attackers to access sensitive files, disclose configuration data, or execute arbitrary code if includable PHP files are targeted, with high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.

The Patchstack advisory provides details on this Local File Inclusion vulnerability in the Chinchilla WordPress theme version 1.16, including guidance on patches and remediation: https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Theme/chinchilla/vulnerability/wordpress-chinchilla-theme-1-16-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 Chinchilla chinchilla allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Chinchilla: from n/a through <= 1.16.

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 →
T1552.001 Credentials In Files Credential Access
Adversaries may search local file systems and remote file shares for files containing insecurely stored credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Why these techniques?

LFI vulnerability in public-facing WordPress theme enables unauthenticated remote exploitation (T1190) to include local files for data collection from the local system (T1005) and disclosure of unsecured credentials in configuration files (T1552.001).

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

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-58946Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-60066Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-22495Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-58925Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-32400Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-22412Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-22371Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-48330Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-67530Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-27996Shared CWE-98

Affected Assets

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SI-2 Flaw Remediation good match
prevent

Flaw remediation requires timely patching of the specific Local File Inclusion vulnerability in Chinchilla theme versions through 1.16, directly eliminating the exploitable improper filename control in PHP include statements.

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match
prevent

Information input validation mandates checking filenames and paths used in PHP include/require functions, preventing unauthorized local file inclusion exploited in this CWE-98 vulnerability.

RA-5 Vulnerability Monitoring and Scanning good match
detect

Vulnerability monitoring and scanning identifies the presence of the vulnerable Chinchilla WordPress theme, enabling proactive detection and remediation of this LFI flaw.

References