Executive Summary

CVE-2025-69144 is a high-priority Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability found in the WordPress Preservation Theme versions up to and including 1.10. This flaw allows an unauthenticated attacker to include local files on the target website.

Exploiting this vulnerability can lead to exposure of sensitive data such as database credentials and may result in a complete database takeover, depending on the server's configuration.

The vulnerability is categorized under the OWASP Top 10 category A3: Injection.

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Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can have severe impacts including unauthorized access to sensitive information like database credentials.

It may allow attackers to take over the entire database, compromising the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of your data.

Since the vulnerability can be exploited without authentication, it poses a high risk to any website using the affected theme.

Additionally, it is expected to be actively exploited in mass campaigns targeting thousands of websites.

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Detection Guidance

This vulnerability is a Local File Inclusion (LFI) flaw in the WordPress Preservation Theme up to version 1.10, exploitable without authentication. Detection typically involves monitoring for suspicious HTTP requests attempting to include local files via URL parameters.

Since no specific detection commands are provided in the available resources, general detection methods include inspecting web server logs for unusual requests containing file path traversal patterns (e.g., ../ or %2e%2e%2f) targeting the Preservation theme endpoints.

Network detection can be done by using tools like tcpdump or Wireshark to capture HTTP traffic and filter for suspicious requests.

• Example command to search web server logs for LFI attempts: grep -E "(\.{2}/|%2e%2e%2f)" /var/log/apache2/access.log
• Example tcpdump command to capture HTTP traffic on port 80: tcpdump -A -s 0 'tcp port 80 and (((ip[2:2] - ((ip[0]&0xf)<<2)) - ((tcp[12]&0xf0)>>2)) != 0)'

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Mitigation Strategies

Immediate mitigation steps include updating the Preservation theme to a version newer than 1.10 as soon as an official patch is available.

Since no official patch is currently available, applying the temporary mitigation rule issued by Patchstack to block attack attempts is strongly recommended.

Users who cannot update the theme themselves should seek assistance from their hosting provider or web developer.

Additionally, monitoring and blocking suspicious requests at the web application firewall (WAF) or server level can help reduce exposure.

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Compliance Impact

The vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to include local files on the target website, potentially exposing sensitive data such as database credentials and enabling a complete database takeover depending on server configuration.

Exposure of sensitive data due to this vulnerability could lead to non-compliance with data protection regulations like GDPR and HIPAA, which require safeguarding personal and sensitive information against unauthorized access.

Therefore, exploitation of this vulnerability may result in violations of these standards by compromising confidentiality, integrity, and availability of protected data.

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