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Unrestricted File UploadWeakness · CWE-434

CVE-2025-12974

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-11-18
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
90/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The Gravity Forms plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary file uploads due to missing file type validation in the legacy chunked upload mechanism in all versions up to, and including, 2.9.21.1. This is due to the extension blacklist not including .phar files, which can be uploaded through the chunked upload mechanism. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to upload executable .phar files and achieve remote code execution on the server, granted they can discover or enumerate the upload path. In order for an attacker to achieve RCE, the web server needs to be set up to process .phar file as PHP via file handler mapping or similar.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The Gravity Forms WordPress plugin fails to validate file types in its legacy chunked upload mechanism, allowing unauthenticated attackers to bypass the extension blacklist and upload malicious .phar (PHP archive) files. Since .phar files can execute PHP code when processed by the web server, this enables remote code execution if attackers can discover the upload path.

MitigationUpdate Gravity Forms to version 2.9.22 or later to patch the vulnerability, and verify the web server is not configured to execute .phar files as PHP.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify Gravity Forms plugin is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and locate Gravity Forms. Note the version number displayed.
    Affected if Gravity Forms is installed and version is lower than 2.9.22
  2. Confirm file upload forms exist
    In Gravity Forms, check if any forms contain File Upload fields (Forms > Select Form > Edit > Add Fields > File Upload).
    Affected if File Upload fields are present in any form and the plugin version is below 2.9.22
  3. Inspect upload directory for .phar files
    Check the WordPress uploads folder (typically wp-content/uploads/) for any .phar files using file manager or command: find /path/to/wp-content/uploads/ -name '*.phar'
    Affected if Any .phar files exist in upload directories (indicating potential exploitation)
  4. Check web server .phar execution config
    Review web server configuration (Apache .htaccess or Nginx config) for directives that allow .phar files to execute as PHP, such as 'AddType application/x-httpd-php .phar' or 'application/x-phar'.
    Affected if Web server is configured to execute .phar files as PHP scripts

A site is affected if it runs Gravity Forms versions before 2.9.22, has forms with file upload fields enabled, and either contains .phar files in uploads or has a web server config that executes .phar as PHP.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Update Gravity Forms to version 2.9.22 or later to patch the vulnerability, and verify the web server is not configured to execute .phar files as PHP.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Gravity Forms 2.9.22 or later

  1. Upgrade the Gravity Forms plugin to version 2.9.22 or later to resolve the unrestricted file upload vulnerability
  2. After upgrading, verify that the .phar file extension is now properly blocked in the upload mechanism
  3. If using the legacy chunked upload feature, confirm it is either disabled or properly validates file types against an allowlist rather than a blocklist
  4. Review server configuration to ensure .phar files are not mapped to be processed as PHP (check httpd.conf or similar for AddHandler or FPM configuration)

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation1.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,060
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-12974 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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