Overview
The CVE-2025-9991 is a critical vulnerability that affects all versions up to and including 4.3.34 of Tiny Bootstrap Elements Light plugin for WordPress, a widely used CMS platform. The vulnerability is a significant cause for concern due to the popularity of WordPress and the potential for widespread exploitation. It allows for Local File Inclusion (LFI), which could lead to a complete system compromise and subsequent data leakage.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-9991
Severity: High (8.1/10)
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
Tiny Bootstrap Elements Light for WordPress | 4.3.34 and below
How the Exploit Works
This vulnerability is exploited using the ‘language’ parameter in the Tiny Bootstrap Elements Light plugin for WordPress. Unauthenticated attackers can manipulate the parameter to include and execute arbitrary .php files on the server. The execution of arbitrary PHP code can be utilized to bypass access controls, obtain sensitive data, or achieve code execution, particularly in cases where .php file types can be uploaded and included.
Conceptual Example Code
Here’s a hypothetical example of how the vulnerability might be exploited:
GET /wp-content/plugins/tiny-bootstrap-elements-light/?language=../../../../wp-config.php HTTP/1.1
Host: vulnerablewordpress.comIn this example, the attacker is exploiting the ‘language’ parameter to include the ‘wp-config.php’ file, which contains sensitive configuration data, including database credentials.
Mitigation Guidance
The best way to mitigate this vulnerability is to apply the vendor patch as soon as it becomes available. In the meantime, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can provide temporary mitigation. This vulnerability emphasizes the importance of maintaining a robust patch management strategy and regularly updating all plugins, themes, and the WordPress core.
