CVE-2026-23978

High

Published: 22 January 2026

Published

22 January 2026

Modified

23 April 2026

KEV Added

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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 0.0038 30.1th percentile

Risk Priority 55 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-23978 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 30.1th 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 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).

Deeper analysis

CVE-2026-23978 is an Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program vulnerability, classified as a PHP Remote File Inclusion issue that enables PHP Local File Inclusion, in the Softwebmedia Gyan Elements WordPress plugin (gyan-elements). It affects all versions from n/a through 2.2.1 and is associated with CWE-98.

The vulnerability has 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), indicating exploitation over the network by low-privileged authenticated users (PR:L) with high attack complexity (AC:H) and no user interaction (UI:N). Attackers can achieve high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, potentially allowing unauthorized access to local files on the server.

The Patchstack advisory documents this Local File Inclusion vulnerability in the Gyan Elements WordPress plugin up to version 2.2.1, with further details available at https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Plugin/gyan-elements/vulnerability/wordpress-gyan-elements-plugin-2-2-1-local-file-inclusion-vulnerability?_s_id=cve.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-3812

Vulnerability details

Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in Softwebmedia Gyan Elements gyan-elements allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Gyan Elements: from n/a through <= 2.2.1.

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?

The vulnerability is an unauthenticated remote file inclusion flaw in a public-facing WordPress plugin, directly enabling exploitation of a public-facing application for initial access and potential RCE.

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