Cyber Posture

CVE-2026-28120

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 Dr.Patterson dr-patterson allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Dr.Patterson: from n/a through <= 1.3.2.

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5)AI

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match
prevent

Directly validates user-supplied filenames in PHP include/require statements to block local file inclusion exploits.

SI-2 Flaw Remediation good match
prevent

Requires timely remediation of the specific flaw in Dr.Patterson theme versions up to 1.3.2 via patching to eliminate the vulnerability.

CM-6 Configuration Settings partial match
prevent

Enforces secure PHP configuration settings like open_basedir restrictions to limit file access paths exploitable by LFI.

Security SummaryAI

CVE-2026-28120 is an Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement vulnerability (CWE-98), classified as a PHP Local File Inclusion issue, in the ThemeREX Dr.Patterson WordPress theme. It affects Dr.Patterson versions from n/a through 1.3.2 and was published on 2026-03-05.

The vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.1 (AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H), indicating exploitation is possible over the network by unauthenticated attackers with no user interaction required, though it demands high attack complexity. Attackers can achieve high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, potentially allowing local file inclusion to disclose sensitive data or execute arbitrary code if server configurations permit.

The Patchstack advisory at https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Theme/dr-patterson/vulnerability/wordpress-dr-patterson-theme-1-3-2-local-file-inclusion-vulnerability?_s_id=cve provides further details on the vulnerability in the WordPress Dr.Patterson theme version 1.3.2. Security practitioners should consult this and related sources for patch availability and mitigation guidance.

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 →
Why these techniques?

LFI vulnerability in public-facing WordPress theme enables exploitation of public-facing application (T1190) to perform data collection from local system files (T1005).

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

References