Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2026-22418 affects the WordPress Great Lotus theme by AncoraThemes through version 1.3.1. The issue may let an unauthenticated remote attacker include local PHP files, risking data exposure, site modification, or disruption. It is rated high severity, but exploitation is marked high-complexity and no active exploitation is reported in the provided sources.
Executive priority
Prioritize confirmation across public WordPress sites. If the theme is present and at or below 1.3.1, treat as high-priority remediation because successful exploitation could affect site confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Urgency is lower than a known-exploited issue because no active exploitation is cited.
Technical view
The CVE describes improper control of filenames in PHP include/require behavior, mapped to CWE-98. Affected scope is Great Lotus theme versions up to and including 1.3.1. CVSS 3.1 is 8.1: network reachable, unauthenticated, no user interaction, high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability, with high attack complexity.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites with the AncoraThemes Great Lotus theme installed, especially versions <= 1.3.1. The CVE data has an affected-version inconsistency, listing the description as <=1.3.1 while the structured affected entry shows version "0" and default unaffected.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. The vulnerability is remotely reachable and unauthenticated, but CVSS marks attack complexity as high. Treat internet-facing WordPress sites using this theme as the priority validation target.
Researcher notes
Evidence is sparse beyond the CVE and Patchstack database reference. Do not assume a fixed version from the provided data. Note the mismatch between narrative affected versions and structured affected data. Further vendor confirmation is needed for remediation status and precise version boundaries.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for the Great Lotus theme and recorded theme version.
- Check AncoraThemes and Patchstack guidance for a fixed version or official remediation.
- Update the theme if a vendor-supported fixed release is available.
- If no fix exists, consider disabling or replacing the theme after business-impact review.
- Restrict administrative access and keep WordPress, plugins, and themes fully maintained.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether Great Lotus is installed on any WordPress property.
- Record installed theme versions and compare against <= 1.3.1 exposure.
- Review web logs for unusual requests targeting theme PHP include paths.
- Check security monitoring for file-read, PHP error, or unexpected include activity.
- Track CVE, Patchstack, and vendor pages for corrected affected-version and fix details.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-98: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2026-22418 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 8.1 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H2.25.9Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.1HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion')
Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.