CVE-2026-27996
Published: 05 March 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-27996 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 32.0th 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-2026-27996 is an Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program vulnerability, classified as a PHP Local File Inclusion (LFI) issue, affecting the ThemeREX Lingvico WordPress theme. This flaw impacts all versions of Lingvico from n/a through 1.0.14 and is associated with CWE-98. The vulnerability carries 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), indicating high severity due to its potential for significant impact.
Unauthenticated remote attackers can exploit this vulnerability over the network, though it requires high attack complexity and no user interaction. Exploitation enables attackers to perform local file inclusion, potentially leading to high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, such as unauthorized access to sensitive local files or further compromise depending on server configuration.
Mitigation details are available in the Patchstack advisory at https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Theme/lingvico/vulnerability/wordpress-lingvico-theme-1-0-14-local-file-inclusion-vulnerability?_s_id=cve. Security practitioners should review this reference for patching instructions and update to a fixed version if available.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-9666
Vulnerability details
Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in ThemeREX Lingvico lingvico allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Lingvico: from n/a through <= 1.0.14.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
The LFI vulnerability in the public-facing WordPress theme directly enables exploitation of public-facing applications (T1190) and facilitates arbitrary local file reads for data from the local system (T1005) and extraction of unsecured credentials in files (T1552.001), potentially leading to code execution.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
SI-2 requires timely flaw remediation, directly addressing the PHP LFI vulnerability in the Lingvico theme by patching improper filename controls in include/require statements.
SI-10 mandates information input validation at system entry points, preventing exploitation by validating user-supplied filenames before PHP include/require operations.
CM-6 enforces secure baseline configuration settings for PHP, such as open_basedir restrictions, limiting the impact of local file inclusion by constraining accessible file paths.