Cyber Posture

CVE-2026-22503

High

Published: 25 March 2026

Published
25 March 2026
Modified
24 April 2026
KEV Added
—
Patch
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CVSS Score 8.1 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0016 37.1th percentile
Risk Priority 16 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Description

Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in ThemeREX Nelson nelson allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Nelson: from n/a through <= 1.2.0.

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI

SI-2 Flaw Remediation good match
prevent

Directly remediates the PHP Local File Inclusion flaw in ThemeREX Nelson WordPress theme versions through 1.2.0 by applying vendor patches or upgrades.

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match
prevent

Validates user-supplied inputs used in PHP include/require statements against whitelists or patterns to block arbitrary local file inclusion.

SC-7 Boundary Protection partial match
preventdetect

Deploys web application firewalls at system boundaries to inspect and block network requests containing path traversal payloads targeting this LFI vulnerability.

Security SummaryAI

CVE-2026-22503 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 ThemeREX Nelson WordPress theme. This issue affects Nelson versions from n/a through 1.2.0. Published on 2026-03-25, it 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) and maps to CWE-98.

Unauthenticated remote attackers can exploit this vulnerability over the network, though it requires high attack complexity and no user interaction. Successful exploitation grants high impacts across confidentiality, integrity, and availability, potentially allowing attackers to include and execute arbitrary local PHP files on the server.

The Patchstack advisory provides further details on this WordPress Nelson theme vulnerability, available at https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Theme/nelson/vulnerability/wordpress-nelson-theme-1-2-0-local-file-inclusion-vulnerability?_s_id=cve.

Details

CWE(s)
CWE-98

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 →
T1552.001 Credentials In Files Credential Access
Adversaries may search local file systems and remote file shares for files containing insecurely stored credentials.
attack.mitre.org →
Why these techniques?

Public-facing LFI vulnerability in WordPress theme exploited remotely via T1190; enables reading sensitive local files (T1005) including those with credentials (T1552.001).

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

References