CVE-2025-60049

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-60049 is a critical PHP Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability affecting the Axiomthemes Soleil WordPress theme, version 1.17 and earlier. The vulnerability stems from improper control of filenames used in PHP include/require statements, allowing an unauthenticated attacker to include arbitrary local files from the server. This can lead to sensitive information disclosure, such as reading /etc/passwd, database credentials, or WordPress configuration files. The CVSS score of 8.1 (High) reflects the ease of exploitation and high confidentiality impact. No public proof-of-concept or patch is currently available, making this a high-priority unpatched threat for WordPress sites using the Soleil theme.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability affects a WordPress theme distributed via the Axiomthemes marketplace and potentially bundled with other products. Since it is a PHP application component, there is no NPM, PyPI, Go, or Ruby package involved. However, the risk extends to any site using the theme, and the lack of a patch means site administrators must manually mitigate the risk.

CVSS Breakdown & Threat Level

• Attack Vector (AV): Network (N) – Exploitable remotely.
• Attack Complexity (AC): Low (L) – No special conditions required.
• Privileges Required (PR): None (N) – No authentication needed.
• User Interaction (UI): None (N) – No user action required.
• Scope (S): Unchanged (U) – The vulnerable component and the affected resource are the same.
• Confidentiality (C): High (H) – Full file read capability.
• Integrity (I): None (N) – No file modification.
• Availability (A): None (N) – No denial of service.

Threat Level: High. The vulnerability is trivial to exploit and can expose sensitive server data.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability exists in the Soleil theme's PHP code, likely in a template or plugin file that uses include() or require() with user-supplied input without proper sanitization. The CWE-98 (PHP Remote File Inclusion) description indicates the flaw is in the filename control for include/require statements. However, the actual impact is Local File Inclusion (LFI), meaning the attacker can only include files already on the server, not remote ones.

Attack Flow:

1. An attacker identifies a parameter (e.g., page, template, file) in the theme's URL that is passed to an include() function.
2. The attacker crafts a request with path traversal sequences (e.g., ../../../../etc/passwd) to include arbitrary files.
3. The PHP engine processes the include, reading the file content and potentially executing PHP code if the file contains PHP.

Example vulnerable code pattern:

$template = $_GET['template'];
include("templates/" . $template . ".php");

An attacker could supply template=../../../../etc/passwd%00 to null-terminate the string and read /etc/passwd.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Since no patch is available, we can only hypothesize the vulnerable code and a potential fix.

Vulnerable Code (hypothetical):

<?php
// In a theme file like header.php or page.php
$page = $_GET['page'];
include($page . '.php');
?>

Patched Code (hypothetical):

<?php
$allowed_pages = array('home', 'about', 'contact');
$page = $_GET['page'];
if (in_array($page, $allowed_pages)) {
    include($page . '.php');
} else {
    // Default page
    include('home.php');
}
?>

The patch uses a whitelist approach to restrict included files to a predefined set.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Offensive)

Lab Setup:

• Install WordPress with the Soleil theme (version 1.17) on a local server (e.g., XAMPP, Docker).
• Ensure the vulnerable parameter is present (e.g., ?page= in the URL).

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify the vulnerable parameter by fuzzing the theme's URLs.
2. Use path traversal to read sensitive files:

   curl "http://target/wp-content/themes/soleil/vulnerable-file.php?page=../../../../etc/passwd"
   

3. If PHP wrappers are available, use php://filter to read source code:

   curl "http://target/wp-content/themes/soleil/vulnerable-file.php?page=php://filter/convert.base64-encode/resource=../../../../etc/passwd"
   

No public exploit code is available for this CVE.

Blue Team (Defensive)

Detection:

• Monitor web server logs for path traversal patterns (e.g., ../, %2e%2e%2f).
• Look for requests to theme files with suspicious parameters.
• Use WAF rules to block directory traversal attempts.

Mitigation:

• Disable the Soleil theme until a patch is released.
• Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules to block LFI attempts.
• Apply the principle of least privilege to the web server user.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• URL Patterns: ?page=../../../../etc/passwd, ?template=php://filter/...
• Log Entries: Requests containing ../, %2e%2e, or php:// in parameters.
• File Access: Unauthorized reads of /etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, wp-config.php, or other sensitive files.
• Network Traffic: Outbound connections from the server if the attacker attempts to include remote files (though this is LFI, not RFI).

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_60049_LFI_Detection {
    meta:
        description = "Detects path traversal attempts targeting Soleil theme LFI"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2025-60049"
    strings:
        $path_traversal = /(\.\.\/|\.\.\\|%2e%2e%2f|%2e%2e%5c)/ nocase
        $php_wrapper = /php:\/\// nocase
        $soleil_param = /(page|template|file)=/ nocase
    condition:
        any of ($path_traversal) and any of ($php_wrapper) and any of ($soleil_param)
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-60049 Soleil Theme LFI Attempt
id: 12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789abc
status: experimental
description: Detects path traversal in Soleil theme parameters
author: Valters IT
date: 2025/04/10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        c-uri|contains:
            - '..'
            - '%2e%2e'
            - 'php://'
        c-uri|contains|all:
            - '/wp-content/themes/soleil/'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of similar patterns in other contexts
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-60049 Soleil Theme LFI Attempt"; flow:to_server,established; content:"/wp-content/themes/soleil/"; http_uri; content:".."; http_uri; distance:0; content:"php://"; http_uri; distance:0; classtype:attempted-recon; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the Soleil theme and switch to a default WordPress theme (e.g., Twenty Twenty-Four) until a patch is released.
2. Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules to block directory traversal and PHP wrapper usage.
3. Restrict file permissions on the web server to limit the impact of LFI (e.g., ensure wp-config.php is not readable by the web user).

Long-term Fix:

• Monitor the Axiomthemes website for a patched version of the Soleil theme.
• Apply the patch as soon as it becomes available.
• Conduct a security audit of all custom themes and plugins.

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