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

CVE-2025-22656

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-02-18
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
Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in Oscar Alvarez Cookie Monster cookie-monster allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Cookie Monster: from n/a through <= 1.2.2.

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

Oscar Alvarez Cookie Monster versions through 1.2.2 contain a PHP Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability where user-supplied input is used in include/require statements without proper validation, allowing attackers to read sensitive local files via directory traversal sequences.

MitigationUpgrade to a patched version of Cookie Monster once available, or implement strict input validation using basename() and allowlist checking on any parameters used in file inclusion operations.

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. Identify Cookie Monster installation version
    Check the version file or composer.json in the Cookie Monster installation directory for the version number
    Affected if Version is 1.2.2 or lower (through 1.2.2)
  2. Locate file inclusion code using user input
    Search PHP source files for include(), require(), include_once(), or require_once() statements that reference $_GET, $_POST, or $_REQUEST superglobals
    Affected if Files contain include/require statements directly using unvalidated user-supplied parameters
  3. Inspect the vulnerable parameter for directory traversal
    Review the identified include/require code to confirm the user-supplied parameter is not sanitized with basename() or allowlist validation before use
    Affected if The parameter is used directly in include/require without basename() or allowlist checking
  4. Verify parameter is controllable via HTTP request
    Test whether the identified parameter accepts path traversal sequences like ../ via GET or POST requests
    Affected if The parameter accepts directory traversal sequences without blocking them

You are affected if Cookie Monster version is 1.2.2 or lower AND your installation contains PHP include/require statements using unvalidated user input from $_GET, $_POST, or $_REQUEST parameters.

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 a patched version of Cookie Monster once available, or implement strict input validation using basename() and allowlist checking on any parameters used in file inclusion operations.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2025-22656 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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