Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
CVE-2026-28049 affects the WordPress Police Department theme by ThemeREX, versions through 2.17. A remote attacker may be able to make the site include unintended local files. The published CVSS score is high, but attack complexity is also rated high. No provided source shows active exploitation.
Executive priority
Treat as a high-priority WordPress exposure for sites using this specific theme. Prioritize discovery first, then remediation or temporary removal for public-facing sites. Business urgency is lower for organizations without this theme installed.
Technical view
The issue is classified as CWE-98: improper control of filename in a PHP include/require statement. Sources describe PHP local file inclusion in ThemeREX Police Department theme <= 2.17. CVSS 3.1 is 8.1 with network attack vector, no privileges, no user interaction, high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability, and high attack complexity.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to WordPress sites using the ThemeREX Police Department theme at version 2.17 or earlier. Organizations not using this theme are not affected based on the provided sources.
Exploitation context
The vulnerability is network-reachable and does not require authentication or user interaction, but CVSS rates attack complexity as high. The CVE is not listed as KEV in the provided data, and no cited source confirms active exploitation or a public exploit.
Researcher notes
Evidence is limited to the CVE record and Patchstack entry. The bundle does not identify a patched version, exploit proof, or active exploitation. The affected-version statement in the description says <= 2.17; the structured affected data is sparse, so validate against vendor advisories.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WordPress sites for the Police Department theme and version.
- Check ThemeREX and Patchstack guidance for a fixed release or official workaround.
- If no fix is available, disable or replace the affected theme where feasible.
- Prioritize internet-facing WordPress sites using version 2.17 or earlier.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether the Police Department theme is installed on each WordPress site.
- Record the installed theme version and compare it to <= 2.17.
- Review vendor and Patchstack pages for updated remediation status.
- Check web logs for unusual file-access errors or suspicious theme-related requests.
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-2026-28049 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.