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

CVE-2025-23938

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-01-22
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
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 CRUDLab Image Gallery Box by CRUDLab image-gallery-box-by-crudlab allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Image Gallery Box by CRUDLab: from n/a through <= 1.0.3.

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

This is a PHP Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability in the Image Gallery Box WordPress plugin. The vulnerability stems from improper control of filenames used in PHP include/require statements, allowing attackers to potentially include arbitrary local PHP files via unsanitized input. The issue affects all versions through 1.0.3 of the plugin.

MitigationUpdate to the latest patched version of the Image Gallery Box plugin if available; otherwise, implement strict input validation and whitelisting on file path parameters to prevent path traversal attacks.

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/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. Confirm Image Gallery Box plugin is installed
    Navigate to WordPress admin dashboard under Plugins > Installed Plugins and look for 'Image Gallery Box', or inspect the directory /wp-content/plugins/ for a folder named 'image-gallery-box' or similar.
    Affected if The plugin appears in the installed plugins list or its directory exists in the plugins folder.
  2. Identify the installed version
    Open the main plugin PHP file (commonly the primary .php file in the plugin root) and locate the version header comment (e.g., 'Version: 1.0.3'), or check the readme.txt file for the 'Stable tag' entry.
    Affected if The version listed is 1.0.3 or any earlier version (the vulnerability affects all versions through 1.0.3).
  3. Check for exposed file inclusion parameters
    Review any publicly accessible PHP files in the plugin that handle include(), require(), include_once(), or require_once() statements. Look for parameters (via GET/POST) that control which files are included without proper sanitization.
    Affected if The plugin contains PHP code that uses user-supplied input in include/require statements without sanitizing for path traversal sequences (e.g., ../../).
  4. Verify web server access to plugin files
    Test direct HTTP access to the vulnerable PHP files identified in step 3 by attempting to access them directly via browser (e.g., visit the plugin URL endpoint with manipulated file path parameters).
    Affected if The vulnerable file inclusion functionality is accessible via HTTP requests without authentication or with low-privilege user access.

You are affected if the Image Gallery Box plugin is installed with version 1.0.3 or earlier and the vulnerable file inclusion code is accessible, allowing path traversal via unsanitized input 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

Update to the latest patched version of the Image Gallery Box plugin if available; otherwise, implement strict input validation and whitelisting on file path parameters to prevent path traversal attacks.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2025-23938 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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