CVE-2025-60065

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-60065 is a critical PHP Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability discovered in the Axiomthemes Pinevale WordPress theme, affecting versions up to and including 1.0.14. The vulnerability stems from improper control of filenames used in 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 configuration files, database credentials, or source code. The CVSS score of 8.1 (High) reflects the ease of exploitation and potential for significant data exposure. As a WordPress ecosystem issue, this vulnerability affects sites running the Pinevale theme and does not implicate the underlying web server software.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability resides in a commercial WordPress theme distributed by Axiomthemes. Since it is not an open-source package (NPM, PyPI, Go, Ruby), supply chain risks are limited to direct theme installations. However, users who obtained the theme via unofficial channels may be at higher risk due to potential backdoors or delayed updates. The lack of a patch from the vendor increases the urgency for manual mitigation.

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) – Vulnerability does not affect other components.
• 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 files, including wp-config.php containing database credentials.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability exists in the Pinevale theme’s PHP code, likely within a template or plugin file that uses include() or require() with user-supplied input. The theme fails to sanitize or validate the filename parameter, allowing path traversal sequences (e.g., ../../) to read arbitrary files.

Root Cause: The theme uses a parameter (e.g., file, template, or page) in an include statement without proper filtering. For example:

include($_GET['file'] . '.php');

An attacker can supply ../../../etc/passwd to read system files, or ../../../wp-config to read WordPress configuration.

Attack Flow:

1. Attacker identifies a vulnerable endpoint (e.g., /?file=...).
2. Attacker crafts a request with path traversal: /?file=../../../etc/passwd%00 (null byte injection may be used to bypass .php extension).
3. The server includes the specified file, outputting its contents in the response.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (Pinevale <= 1.0.14):

// vulnerable.php
$file = $_GET['template'];
include($file . '.php');

Patched Code (Hypothetical):

// patched.php
$allowed_files = array('header', 'footer', 'sidebar');
$file = $_GET['template'];
if (in_array($file, $allowed_files)) {
    include($file . '.php');
} else {
    // Handle error
}

The patch restricts included files to a whitelist, preventing arbitrary file inclusion.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team

Prerequisites:

• Target running WordPress with Pinevale theme <= 1.0.14.
• No authentication required.

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify the vulnerable parameter (e.g., template, file, page).
2. Use path traversal to read sensitive files:

   curl "http://target.com/?template=../../../etc/passwd%00"
   

   Or for WordPress config:

   curl "http://target.com/?template=../../../wp-config%00"
   

3. If null byte injection is blocked, try double encoding or using ../ sequences:

   curl "http://target.com/?template=....//....//....//etc/passwd"
   

Expected Output: The contents of the requested file are displayed in the HTTP response.

Blue Team

Detection:

• Monitor web server logs for suspicious ../ sequences in GET parameters.
• Look for requests to theme files with unexpected parameters.
• Use WAF rules to block path traversal patterns.

Hunting:

• Search for include( or require( in theme files that use $_GET, $_POST, or $_REQUEST.
• Check for files like template-loader.php or page.php in the theme directory.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• File Paths: /wp-content/themes/pinevale/ (any PHP file with include vulnerability)
• URL Patterns: ?template=, ?file=, ?page= followed by ../ sequences
• Log Entries: HTTP requests containing %00, ../, or ....// in query strings
• Response Content: Unexpected inclusion of /etc/passwd, wp-config.php, or other sensitive files

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_60065_Pinevale_LFI {
    meta:
        description = "Detects Pinevale theme files with potential LFI vulnerability"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2025-60065"
    strings:
        $include = /include\s*\(\s*\$\_(GET|POST|REQUEST|COOKIE)\s*\[/ nocase
        $require = /require\s*\(\s*\$\_(GET|POST|REQUEST|COOKIE)\s*\[/ nocase
        $path_traversal = /\.\.\// 
    condition:
        ($include or $require) and #path_traversal > 0
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-60065 Pinevale LFI Attempt
id: 8a9b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d
status: experimental
description: Detects path traversal attempts targeting Pinevale theme
author: Valters IT
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
    service: access_combined
detection:
    selection:
        cs-uri-query|contains:
            - '..%2f'
            - '%2e%2e%2f'
            - '....//'
            - '..\\'
        cs-uri-stem|contains: '/wp-content/themes/pinevale/'
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of relative paths in theme files (rare)
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-60065 Pinevale LFI Attempt"; flow:to_server,established; content:"/wp-content/themes/pinevale/"; http_uri; content:"../"; http_uri; distance:0; within:100; classtype:attempted-recon; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

Immediate Actions:

1. Disable the Pinevale theme and switch to a default WordPress theme (e.g., Twenty Twenty-Four) until a patch is available.
2. Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block path traversal patterns in query strings.
3. Restrict file permissions on sensitive files (e.g., wp-config.php should be readable only by the web server user).

Long-Term Fix:

• Contact Axiomthemes for an official patch or update to a patched version.
• If custom development is possible, modify the vulnerable theme file to use a whitelist of allowed files.
• Regularly audit third-party themes for similar vulnerabilities.

Workaround:

• Add the following to .htaccess to block common LFI patterns:

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} (\.\.|%2e%2e|%252e%252e) [NC]
RewriteRule .* - [F,L]

Valters IT Signature:
This report was generated by Valters IT DevSecOps AI. All intelligence is based on publicly available data and should be verified before action.