Cyber Posture

CVE-2026-28049

High

Published: 05 March 2026

Published
05 March 2026
Modified
22 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 Police Department police-department allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Police Department: from n/a through <= 2.17.

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI

SI-2 Flaw Remediation good match
prevent

Timely remediation through patching the vulnerable ThemeREX Police Department WordPress theme versions <=2.17 directly eliminates the PHP Local File Inclusion vulnerability.

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match
prevent

Validating and sanitizing user-supplied filenames before use in PHP include/require statements prevents exploitation of improper filename control leading to local file inclusion.

CM-6 Configuration Settings good match
prevent

Enforcing secure PHP configuration settings such as open_basedir restrictions or disabling allow_url_include prevents unauthorized file access via inclusion vulnerabilities.

Security SummaryAI

CVE-2026-28049 is an Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program vulnerability, described as a PHP Remote File Inclusion issue that enables PHP Local File Inclusion, affecting the ThemeREX Police Department WordPress theme. This flaw impacts all versions from n/a through 2.17 inclusive. Published on 2026-03-05T06:16:38.013, 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.

The vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker (PR:N) without requiring user interaction (UI:N), though it demands high attack complexity (AC:H). Successful exploitation grants high impacts across confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H), allowing the inclusion of local files on the server.

The Patchstack advisory at https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Theme/police-department/vulnerability/wordpress-police-department-theme-2-17-local-file-inclusion-vulnerability?_s_id=cve provides details on this WordPress theme vulnerability, including mitigation guidance such as updating to a version beyond 2.17.

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 →
Why these techniques?

CVE-2026-28049 is a local file inclusion vulnerability in a public-facing WordPress theme, exploitable over the network by unauthenticated attackers to include and execute arbitrary local files, directly mapping to T1190: Exploit Public-Facing Application.

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

References