Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-22509

High

Published: 25 March 2026

Published
25 March 2026
Modified
24 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 0.0050 39.1th percentile
Risk Priority 55 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-22509 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 39.1th 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 CM-6 (Configuration Settings) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation).

Deeper analysis

CVE-2026-22509 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 Elated-Themes Gioia WordPress theme. This issue affects Gioia versions from n/a through 1.4, as documented with CWE-98 and published on 2026-03-25.

Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this vulnerability remotely (AV:N), though it requires high attack complexity (AC:H) and no user interaction (UI:N) or privileges (PR:N). Successful exploitation results in high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H), with an overall CVSS 3.1 score of 8.1 and unchanged scope (S:U), potentially allowing local file access through manipulated include/require statements.

The Patchstack advisory at https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Theme/gioia/vulnerability/wordpress-gioia-theme-1-4-local-file-inclusion-vulnerability?_s_id=cve details the Local File Inclusion vulnerability in the WordPress Gioia theme version 1.4.

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 Elated-Themes Gioia gioia allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Gioia: from n/a through <= 1.4.

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?

Unauthenticated remote exploitation of a public-facing WordPress theme vulnerability (T1190) via local file inclusion, enabling collection of data from the local system (T1005) through disclosure of sensitive files and potential code execution.

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

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-60057Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-58940Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-22476Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-67980Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-69034Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-58225Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-22427Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-69402Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-64205Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-28013Shared CWE-98

Affected Assets

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SI-2 Flaw Remediation good match
prevent

Directly remediates the LFI vulnerability in the Gioia WordPress theme by identifying, reporting, and applying patches to affected versions up to 1.4.

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match
prevent

Validates user-supplied filenames in PHP include/require statements to block malicious local file paths exploited in this CVE.

CM-6 Configuration Settings good match
prevent

Establishes secure PHP configuration settings such as open_basedir restrictions to limit file access and prevent LFI exploitation.

References