Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-60061

High

Published: 18 December 2025

Published
18 December 2025
Modified
20 January 2026
KEV Added
—
Patch
—
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-2025-60061 is a high-severity PHP Remote File Inclusion (CWE-98) vulnerability in Axiomthemes Kicker. 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-2025-60061 is an Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program vulnerability, classified under CWE-98 and described as a PHP Remote File Inclusion issue that enables PHP Local File Inclusion. It affects the Kicker WordPress theme developed by axiomthemes, with all versions from n/a through 2.2.0 impacted. The vulnerability was published on 2025-12-18.

The CVSS v3.1 base score is 8.1 (AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating high severity. Unauthenticated remote attackers can exploit it over the network with high attack complexity and no user interaction, potentially achieving high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability through local file inclusion.

Mitigation details are available in the Patchstack advisory at https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Theme/kicker/vulnerability/wordpress-kicker-theme-2-2-0-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 axiomthemes Kicker kicker allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Kicker: from n/a through <= 2.2.0.

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 →
Why these techniques?

Unauthenticated remote exploitation of a PHP Local File Inclusion vulnerability in a public-facing WordPress theme directly enables T1190: Exploit Public-Facing Application.

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

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-58935Same vendor: Axiomthemes
CVE-2025-60063Same vendor: Axiomthemes
CVE-2025-58889Same vendor: Axiomthemes
CVE-2025-53449Same vendor: Axiomthemes
CVE-2025-58950Same vendor: Axiomthemes
CVE-2025-53446Same vendor: Axiomthemes
CVE-2025-60064Same vendor: Axiomthemes
CVE-2025-53445Same vendor: Axiomthemes
CVE-2025-58928Same vendor: Axiomthemes
CVE-2025-60046Same vendor: Axiomthemes

Affected Assets

axiomthemes
kicker
≤ 2.2.0

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SI-2 Flaw Remediation good match
prevent

Directly mitigates the PHP local file inclusion vulnerability by requiring timely installation of patches or updates for the affected Kicker WordPress theme versions <=2.2.0.

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match
prevent

Requires validation of user-supplied filenames in PHP include/require statements to block improper control leading to local file inclusion.

CM-6 Configuration Settings partial match
prevent

Enforces secure PHP configuration settings such as open_basedir restrictions to limit file access paths exploitable via the vulnerability.

References