Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-69078

High

Published: 22 January 2026

Published
22 January 2026
Modified
15 April 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 0.0051 39.6th percentile
Risk Priority 55 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2025-69078 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 39.6th 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-2025-69078 is an Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program vulnerability, classified as PHP Remote File Inclusion, in the AncoraThemes Malta WordPress theme. It enables PHP Local File Inclusion and affects Malta theme versions from n/a through 1.3.3. The vulnerability is associated with CWE-98 and received 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). It was published on 2026-01-22.

The vulnerability can be exploited by remote attackers over the network, requiring high attack complexity but no privileges or user interaction. Successful exploitation grants high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, potentially allowing attackers to include and execute local PHP files, leading to unauthorized access or code execution on the affected WordPress site.

The Patchstack advisory provides details on this Local File Inclusion vulnerability in the WordPress Malta theme up to version 1.3.3, accessible at https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Theme/malta/vulnerability/wordpress-malta-theme-1-3-3-local-file-inclusion-vulnerability?_s_id=cve.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A05:2025 Injection

EU & UK References

Vulnerability details

Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in AncoraThemes Malta malta allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Malta: from n/a through <= 1.3.3.

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 →
T1505.003 Web Shell Persistence
Adversaries may backdoor web servers with web shells to establish persistent access to systems.
attack.mitre.org →
Why these techniques?

LFI/RFI in public-facing WordPress theme directly enables exploitation of web apps (T1190) and web shell deployment/execution via arbitrary PHP file inclusion (T1505.003).

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

CVEs Like This One

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CVE-2025-58206Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-27894Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-48160Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-67936Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-49436Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-5804Shared CWE-98

Affected Assets

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SI-2 Flaw Remediation good match
prevent

Timely patching of the vulnerable Malta WordPress theme up to version 1.3.3 directly eliminates the PHP Local File Inclusion flaw.

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match
prevent

Validating filenames supplied to PHP include/require statements prevents attackers from injecting paths leading to unauthorized local file inclusion and execution.

CM-6 Configuration Settings partial match
prevent

Enforcing secure PHP configuration settings such as open_basedir restrictions and disabling allow_url_include limits the scope of file access exploitable via LFI.

References