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PHP File Inclusion (RFI/LFI)Weakness · CWE-98

CVE-2025-22305

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-01-07
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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
Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in Essential Plugin Hero Banner Ultimate hero-banner-ultimate allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Hero Banner Ultimate: from n/a through <= 1.4.4.

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 · moderate confidence

This is a PHP Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability in the Hero Banner Ultimate WordPress plugin (versions through <=1.4.4). The plugin fails to properly validate/sanitize user input before using it in include or require statements, allowing authenticated attackers to potentially read sensitive files on the server via path traversal.

MitigationUpgrade to the latest version of Hero Banner Ultimate if a patched release is available. Otherwise, implement strict input validation on all file inclusion logic to ensure only whitelisted values are accepted, avoiding direct use of user-supplied input in include/require statements.

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
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

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

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 Hero Banner Ultimate plugin is installed
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Hero Banner Ultimate', or check the /wp-content/plugins/ directory for a folder named 'hero-banner-ultimate' and review its main PHP file for the version comment/header.
    Affected if The plugin is present on the WordPress site.
  2. Identify the installed plugin version
    Open the main plugin file (usually hero-banner-ultimate.php) in /wp-content/plugins/hero-banner-ultimate/ and locate the 'Version:' field in the plugin header comment at the top of the file.
    Affected if The version number is 1.4.4 or lower.
  3. Check for file inclusion functionality in plugin code
    Search the plugin directory for 'include', 'require', 'include_once', or 'require_once' statements that use variables (e.g., include($something), require($_GET[...])). Use grep or manually review PHP files in the plugin folder.
    Affected if The plugin contains dynamic file inclusion code that uses unsanitized user input.
  4. Identify exposed parameters that accept file paths
    Review plugin PHP files for $_GET, $_POST, or $_REQUEST usage passed to include/require statements. Check if any admin or front-end AJAX endpoints or template files accept and process file path parameters.
    Affected if User-supplied parameters (like 'template', 'file', or 'path') are used in file inclusion calls without validation.
  5. Test for path traversal in exposed parameters
    If file inclusion parameters are found, attempt a controlled test with a benign path such as ../../../../wp-config.php (note: only perform this on non-production environments or with authorization). Observe whether the file content is returned or the include statement executes without proper validation.
    Affected if The plugin allows path traversal and returns file contents from outside the intended directory.

A site is affected if the Hero Banner Ultimate plugin version is 1.4.4 or lower AND the plugin exposes file inclusion functionality that accepts unsanitized user input enabling path traversal.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to the latest version of Hero Banner Ultimate if a patched release is available. Otherwise, implement strict input validation on all file inclusion logic to ensure only whitelisted values are accepted, avoiding direct use of user-supplied input in include/require statements.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,620
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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-2025-22305 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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