● High · CVSS 8.1

How to Fix CVE-2026-23801: Improper control of filename for include/require statement in php program ('php remote file inclusion') in The Issue

Q: What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-23801?

8.1 (High). Vector: `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`.

Q: Where is the official advisory for CVE-2026-23801?

The vendor advisory is at [https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Theme/theissue/vulnerability/wordpress-the-issue-theme-1-6-11-local-file-inclusion-vulnerability?_s_id=cve](https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Theme/theissue/vulnerability/wordpress-the-issue-theme-1-6-11-local-file-inclusion-vulnerability?_s_id=cve). The NVD record is at https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23801.

By Sai Kiran Pandrala. Last verified: 2026-05-25.

CVE-2026-23801 is a improper control of filename for include/require statement in php program ('php remote file inclusion') in fuelthemes The Issue. The fix is to upgrade to The Issue 1.6.12.

⚡ At a glance


Severity	8.1 (High)
Actively exploited?	No public listing in CISA KEV
Affected	The Issue 0 to <=1.6.11
Fixed in	The Issue 1.6.12
Type (CWE)	CWE-98: Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion')

What is CVE-2026-23801?

Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in fuelthemes The Issue theissue allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects The Issue: from n/a through <= 1.6.11. The CVSS base score is 8.1 (High), which puts this in the upper risk band and warrants a fast patch cycle. The official advisory is at https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Theme/theissue/vulnerability/wordpress-the-issue-theme-1-6-11-local-file-inclusion-vulnerability?_s_id=cve.

Am I affected?

Check the version of The Issue you are running and compare it against the Affected row above (The Issue 0 to <=1.6.11). If your build sits inside the affected range, you must patch.

Run the version check that fits your platform:


# Linux package check
dpkg -s the-issue 2>/dev/null | grep -i ^Version
rpm -q the-issue 2>/dev/null
command -v the-issue >/dev/null && the-issue --version 2>/dev/null


# Windows (PowerShell)
Get-Package -Name "*The Issue*" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object Name, Version
winget list --name "The Issue" 2>$null

How to fix CVE-2026-23801

Upgrade The Issue to a patched build: The Issue 1.6.12. The vendor advisory is the source of truth for the exact fixed version.

Ubuntu / Debian


sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade the-issue
dpkg -s the-issue | grep -i ^Version

RHEL / CentOS / Rocky / AlmaLinux


sudo dnf upgrade --refresh the-issue -y
# or for older releases:
sudo yum update the-issue -y
rpm -q the-issue

SUSE / openSUSE


sudo zypper refresh
sudo zypper update the-issue
rpm -q the-issue

Node.js / npm


# Update the affected package in your project
npm install The Issue@latest
npm ls The Issue
npm audit fix

PHP / Composer


composer update fuelthemes/the-issue 2>/dev/null || composer update
composer show | head -20

Complete PowerShell remediation script (Windows)


# Fix script for CVE-2026-23801 affecting The Issue
# Run as administrator. Detect -> backup -> upgrade -> verify -> log.

$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
$LogPath  = "C:\Logs\CVE-2026-23801-fix-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd-HHmmss).log"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force (Split-Path $LogPath) | Out-Null
Start-Transcript -Path $LogPath -Append

try {
    Write-Host "[1/4] Detect installed version"
    $pkg = Get-Package -Name "*The Issue*" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    if ($pkg) { $pkg | Format-Table Name, Version }
    else { Write-Host "Not detected via Get-Package; try winget list" }

    Write-Host "[2/4] Backup configuration"
    $backup = "C:\Backup\the-issue-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd)"
    New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force $backup | Out-Null
    Get-ChildItem "C:\ProgramData\The Issue" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
        Copy-Item -Destination $backup -Recurse -Force -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

    Write-Host "[3/4] Apply the upgrade to The Issue 1.6.12"
    winget upgrade --name "The Issue" --silent --accept-source-agreements --accept-package-agreements
    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) {
        # Fallback: pull latest via OS update channel
        Install-Module -Name PSWindowsUpdate -Force -SkipPublisherCheck -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
        Import-Module PSWindowsUpdate
        Install-WindowsUpdate -MicrosoftUpdate -AcceptAll -IgnoreReboot
    }

    Write-Host "[4/4] Verify the patched build"
    winget list --name "The Issue"
    Write-Host "Patch applied. Reboot if prompted."
    exit 0
} catch {
    Write-Error "Patch failed: $_"
    exit 1
} finally {
    Stop-Transcript
}

Complete Bash remediation script (Linux)


#!/usr/bin/env bash
# Fix script for CVE-2026-23801 affecting The Issue
# Detect -> backup -> upgrade -> verify -> log.

set -euo pipefail
LOG="/var/log/cve-2026-23801-fix-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).log"
exec > >(tee -a "$LOG") 2>&1

echo "[1/4] Detect installed version"
if command -v dpkg >/dev/null; then
    dpkg -s the-issue 2>/dev/null | grep -i ^Version || echo "the-issue not installed via dpkg"
elif command -v rpm >/dev/null; then
    rpm -q the-issue || echo "the-issue not installed via rpm"
fi

echo "[2/4] Backup configuration"
BACKUP="/root/backup-cve-2026-23801-$(date +%Y%m%d)"
mkdir -p "$BACKUP"
for d in /etc/the-issue /etc/the-issue.d /etc/the-issue.conf; do
    [ -e "$d" ] && cp -a "$d" "$BACKUP/" || true
done

echo "[3/4] Apply the upgrade (target: The Issue 1.6.12)"
if command -v apt-get >/dev/null; then
    apt-get update
    apt-get install --only-upgrade -y the-issue
elif command -v dnf >/dev/null; then
    dnf upgrade --refresh -y the-issue
elif command -v yum >/dev/null; then
    yum update -y the-issue
elif command -v zypper >/dev/null; then
    zypper --non-interactive update the-issue
fi

echo "[4/4] Verify the patched build"
if command -v dpkg >/dev/null; then
    dpkg -s the-issue 2>/dev/null | grep -i ^Version
elif command -v rpm >/dev/null; then
    rpm -q the-issue
fi
echo "Done. Restart any service that loaded the old library."

If you can't patch immediately

Apply at least one of the following inline controls until you can deploy the patched build. None replace the upgrade.

Restrict exposure with nftables (Linux)


# Allow only trusted CIDR to reach the affected service ports
sudo nft add table inet filter 2>/dev/null || true
sudo nft 'add chain inet filter input { type filter hook input priority 0 ; }' 2>/dev/null || true
sudo nft 'add rule inet filter input tcp dport {80, 443} ip saddr != 10.0.0.0/8 drop'
sudo nft list ruleset

Block at the host firewall (Windows)


New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Block-CVE-2026-23801" -Direction Inbound -Action Block -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 80,443 -RemoteAddress Any -Enabled True
Get-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Block-CVE-2026-23801"

Disable the affected service (Linux)


sudo systemctl stop the-issue 2>/dev/null || true
sudo systemctl disable the-issue 2>/dev/null || true

If the vendor advisory lists an official workaround, prefer that wording verbatim. If no workaround is published, the only safe remediation is the patch.

How to verify the fix worked

After upgrading, confirm the installed version matches the patched build and that no old library is still loaded by a long-running process.


# Linux
dpkg -s the-issue 2>/dev/null | grep -i ^Version
rpm -q the-issue 2>/dev/null || true
# Pid map check for old library handles
sudo lsof +c0 2>/dev/null | grep -i "DEL.*lib" || true


# Windows
Get-Package -Name "*The Issue*" | Select-Object Name, Version
Get-HotFix | Sort-Object InstalledOn -Descending | Select-Object -First 5

Expected: the reported version is at or above The Issue 1.6.12. Restart the affected service (systemctl restart <service> on Linux, or restart the Windows service) so it loads the patched binary.

Frequently asked questions

Other vulnerabilities in the same area that are worth patching alongside this one:

How to Fix CVE-2026-43585: Operation on a Resource after Expiration or Release in OpenClaw — Operation on a Resource after Expiration or Release in OpenClaw
How to Fix CVE-2026-0687: Critical Vulnerability in Meta-box GalleryMeta — Critical Vulnerability in Meta-box GalleryMeta
How to Fix CVE-2026-26932: Cwe-129 improper validation of array index in Packetbeat , Cwe-129 improper validation of array index in Packetbeat
How to Fix CVE-2026-33626: Server-side request forgery in lmdeploy , Server-side request forgery in lmdeploy
How to Fix CVE-2026-26009: Command Injection in catalyst , Command Injection in catalyst

Is CVE-2026-23801 actively exploited?

There is no public confirmation of exploitation in the wild listed in CISA KEV at the time of this writing. Patch anyway. Public exploits commonly follow disclosure within weeks.

Do I need to reboot after patching CVE-2026-23801?

For kernel and OS-level updates, yes. For most userland packages a systemctl restart <service> is enough on Linux, and restarting the Windows service or app on Windows. Any process that loaded the old library keeps using it until restarted.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-23801?

8.1 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Where is the official advisory for CVE-2026-23801?

The vendor advisory is at https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Theme/theissue/vulnerability/wordpress-the-issue-theme-1-6-11-local-file-inclusion-vulnerability?_s_id=cve. The NVD record is at https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23801.

References

Official vendor advisory: https://patchstack.com/database/Wordpress/Theme/theissue/vulnerability/wordpress-the-issue-theme-1-6-11-local-file-inclusion-vulnerability?_s_id=cve
NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23801
CISA KEV catalog: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog

*Written by Sai Kiran Pandrala. Assembled from the official vendor advisory, NVD record, and CISA KEV listing on 2026-05-25. Always confirm against the vendor's advisory before applying changes in production.*