Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-68537

High

Published: 24 December 2025

Published
24 December 2025
Modified
27 April 2026
KEV Added
—
Patch
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CVSS Score v3.1 7.5 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0011 28.8th percentile
Risk Priority 15 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2025-68537 is a high-severity PHP Remote File Inclusion (CWE-98) vulnerability. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 28.8th 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).

Deeper analysis

CVE-2025-68537 is an Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement vulnerability, classified as PHP Remote File Inclusion, in the Zota WordPress theme by thembay. The flaw allows PHP Local File Inclusion and affects Zota versions from n/a through 1.3.14 inclusive. It is associated with CWE-98 and received a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

An attacker with low privileges can exploit this vulnerability over the network, though it requires high attack complexity and no user interaction. Successful exploitation enables high-impact compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability on the affected system.

Patchstack documents this local file inclusion vulnerability in the Zota WordPress theme version 1.3.14 within their database.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability details

Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in thembay Zota zota allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Zota: from n/a through <= 1.3.14.

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?

T1190 for exploiting the public-facing WordPress theme vulnerability (LFI via improper PHP include); T1005 for reading sensitive local files enabled by LFI.

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

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-28079Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-28061Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-28048Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-22516Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-28120Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-67992Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-31432Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-39613Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-26957Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-22435Shared CWE-98

Affected Assets

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SI-2 Flaw Remediation good match
prevent

Directly remediates the known PHP Remote File Inclusion flaw in Zota theme versions <=1.3.14 by requiring timely identification, reporting, and patching of system vulnerabilities.

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match
prevent

Mandates information input validation mechanisms at entry points to block improper filenames supplied to PHP include/require statements, preventing LFI/RFI exploitation.

CM-6 Configuration Settings partial match
prevent

Enforces restrictive PHP configuration settings like allow_url_include=Off and open_basedir to limit arbitrary file access even if code validation is flawed.

References