CVE-2025-49368 is a vulnerability identified in the AncoraThemes Palladio PHP theme, affecting versions up to 1.1.10. The root cause is improper control over the filename parameter used in PHP include or require statements, which leads to a Remote File Inclusion (RFI) or Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability. This flaw allows an attacker to manipulate the input controlling which file is included by the PHP application, potentially causing the server to execute arbitrary code or disclose sensitive files. The vulnerability does not require authentication or user interaction, but it does require network access to the vulnerable web application. The CVSS 3.1 score of 8.1 reflects a high severity, with the vector indicating network attack vector (AV:N), high attack complexity (AC:H), no privileges required (PR:N), no user interaction (UI:N), unchanged scope (S:U), and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H). Although no known exploits have been reported in the wild yet, the vulnerability poses a significant risk to web servers running the affected Palladio theme, as attackers could execute arbitrary PHP code remotely, leading to full system compromise. The vulnerability was reserved in June 2025 and published in December 2025, but no patch links are currently available, indicating that mitigation may rely on workarounds or vendor updates in the near future.

For European organizations, this vulnerability could lead to severe consequences including unauthorized access to sensitive data, defacement or disruption of websites, and full compromise of web servers hosting the vulnerable Palladio theme. Given the widespread use of PHP-based content management systems and themes in Europe, especially in sectors like e-commerce, government, and media, exploitation could result in data breaches, service outages, and reputational damage. The high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability means attackers could steal personal data, alter website content, or cause denial of service. The lack of authentication requirement and network-based exploitability increases the risk of automated attacks and widespread scanning by threat actors. Organizations relying on AncoraThemes Palladio for their web presence should consider this a critical threat to their web infrastructure security.

1. Monitor AncoraThemes official channels for patches or updates addressing CVE-2025-49368 and apply them immediately upon release. 2. Until patches are available, implement strict input validation and sanitization on all parameters controlling file inclusion to prevent malicious input. 3. Employ Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) configured to detect and block suspicious file inclusion patterns and remote file inclusion attempts. 4. Restrict PHP configuration settings such as 'allow_url_include' to 'Off' to prevent remote file inclusion. 5. Conduct thorough code reviews of customizations or plugins that interact with include/require statements to ensure no unsafe dynamic file inclusion occurs. 6. Use intrusion detection systems to monitor for anomalous web requests targeting file inclusion vulnerabilities. 7. Limit the web server’s file system permissions to minimize the impact of potential code execution. 8. Educate developers and administrators about secure coding practices related to file inclusion and input handling.