CVE-2025-67532

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-67532 is a critical PHP Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability discovered in the Thembay Hara WordPress theme, affecting versions up to and including 1.2.17. 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 configuration files, database credentials, or source code. The CVSS score of 7.5 reflects the high confidentiality impact, though no public exploit code or proof-of-concept has been released as of this analysis. The vendor has not yet provided a patch, leaving all sites running Hara theme <= 1.2.17 at risk.

Supply Chain & Package Security

This vulnerability affects a WordPress theme distributed via the official WordPress theme repository and potentially third-party marketplaces. Since WordPress themes are part of the broader PHP ecosystem, any site using the Hara theme is directly impacted. No package manager (NPM, PyPI, Go, Ruby) is involved, but the theme’s inclusion in WordPress plugin/theme directories means supply chain risk exists if the theme is bundled with other plugins or used as a dependency.

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 possible.
• Integrity (I): None (N) – No file modification.
• Availability (A): None (N) – No denial of service.

Threat Level: High. The lack of authentication and low complexity make this an attractive target for automated scanning and exploitation. Although EPSS score is 0.0% (indicating no active exploitation in the wild), the vulnerability is trivial to exploit once discovered.

Deep Dive & Mechanics

The vulnerability exists in the Hara theme’s PHP code, likely in a function that handles template loading or file inclusion. The theme uses user-supplied input (e.g., via GET/POST parameters, cookies, or file paths) to construct an include/require statement without proper sanitization. An attacker can manipulate this input to traverse directories (e.g., using ../) and include arbitrary files from the server.

Example vulnerable code pattern:

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

An attacker could request ?template=../../../../etc/passwd to read the password file (though the .php extension may need to be bypassed via null byte injection or path truncation in older PHP versions).

In modern PHP, null byte injection is mitigated, but path traversal combined with directory listing or error-based disclosure can still work. The theme likely does not validate the file path against an allowlist.

Vulnerable vs. Patched Code

Vulnerable Code (Hara <= 1.2.17):

<?php
// In a template loader function
$file = $_REQUEST['file'];
include( get_template_directory() . '/includes/' . $file . '.php' );
?>

This code directly concatenates user input into the file path without sanitization.

Patched Code (Hypothetical):

<?php
$allowed_files = array('header', 'footer', 'sidebar');
$file = $_REQUEST['file'];
if (in_array($file, $allowed_files)) {
    include( get_template_directory() . '/includes/' . $file . '.php' );
} else {
    // Log or deny
    wp_die('Invalid file.');
}
?>

A proper patch would implement an allowlist of permitted files, use realpath() to resolve the path and check it against the allowed directory, or use basename() to strip directory traversal.

Exploitation & Lab Setup

Red Team (Offensive)

Lab Setup:

1. Install WordPress with Hara theme version 1.2.17.
2. Ensure the server is accessible (e.g., localhost or a test domain).

Exploitation Steps:

1. Identify the vulnerable parameter (e.g., file, template, include). This may require source code review or fuzzing.
2. Craft a request to read /etc/passwd:

   GET /?file=../../../../../../etc/passwd HTTP/1.1
   Host: target.com
   

3. If the .php extension is appended, try:
   • Path truncation (if PHP < 5.3): ?file=../../../../etc/passwd%00
   • Double encoding: ?file=..%252f..%252f..%252fetc/passwd
   • Using PHP wrappers: ?file=php://filter/convert.base64-encode/resource=../../../../etc/passwd
4. Read sensitive files like wp-config.php to extract database credentials.

Example curl command:

curl -v "http://target.com/?file=../../../../etc/passwd"

Blue Team (Defensive)

Detection:

• Monitor web server logs for path traversal patterns (e.g., ../, %2e%2e%2f, ..%252f).
• Look for requests to theme files with unexpected parameters.
• Use WAF rules to block directory traversal sequences.

Hunting:

• Search for include or require statements in the Hara theme code that use user input.
• Check for file inclusion attempts in access logs.

Indicators of Compromise (IOCs)

• File Paths: /etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, /wp-config.php, /proc/self/environ
• URL Patterns: ?file=, ?template=, ?include= followed by ../ sequences
• Log Entries: HTTP requests with %2e%2e%2f or ..%2f in the query string
• Network: Outbound connections from the web server to attacker-controlled hosts (if RFI is also possible)
• File System: Unexpected files in the web root or theme directory

Detection Engineering

YARA Rule

rule CVE_2025_67532_Hara_LFI {
    meta:
        description = "Detects attempts to exploit CVE-2025-67532 in Thembay Hara theme"
        author = "Valters IT"
        date = "2025-04-10"
        reference = "CVE-2025-67532"
    strings:
        $path_traversal = /(\.\.\/|\.\.\\|%2e%2e%2f|%2e%2e%5c)/ nocase
        $vuln_param = /(\?|&)(file|template|include)=/ nocase
    condition:
        $path_traversal and $vuln_param
}

Sigma Rule

title: CVE-2025-67532 - Thembay Hara LFI Attempt
id: 12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789abc
status: experimental
description: Detects path traversal attempts targeting the Hara WordPress theme
author: Valters IT
date: 2025-04-10
logsource:
    category: webserver
    product: apache
detection:
    selection:
        c-uri|contains:
            - '..%2f'
            - '..%5c'
            - '%2e%2e%2f'
            - '%2e%2e%5c'
        c-uri|contains|all:
            - '?file='
            - '?template='
            - '?include='
    condition: selection
falsepositives:
    - Legitimate use of relative paths in some applications
level: high

Suricata Rule

alert http any any -> any any (msg:"CVE-2025-67532 Thembay Hara LFI Attempt"; flow:to_server,established; content:"..%2f"; http_uri; nocase; content:"?file="; http_uri; nocase; sid:1000001; rev:1;)

Remediation & Mitigation

1. Immediate Action: Disable or remove the Hara theme from all WordPress installations until a patch is released.
2. Temporary Workaround: Implement a Web Application Firewall (WAF) rule to block path traversal patterns in query strings.
3. Code Fix: If you have access to the theme source, add an allowlist of valid files and use realpath() to validate the resolved path.
4. Monitoring: Enable detailed logging for web requests and monitor for suspicious file inclusion attempts.
5. Update: Watch for an official patch from Thembay and apply it as soon as it becomes available.
6. Least Privilege: Ensure the web server runs with minimal file system permissions to limit the impact of LFI.

Valters IT
Securing Digital Frontiers