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

CVE-2025-31097

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-04-01
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 Hossein Material Dashboard material-dashboard allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Material Dashboard: from n/a through <= 1.4.5.

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

Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability in Material Dashboard allows attackers to manipulate filename parameters in PHP include/require statements without proper validation, potentially enabling unauthorized file access or remote code execution.

MitigationImplement strict whitelist-based input validation for all file inclusion parameters, replace dynamic includes with fixed paths, and disable allow_url_fopen/allow_url_include to prevent remote file inclusion.

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. Confirm Material Dashboard installation
    Locate Material Dashboard PHP files in your web root directory (commonly in /var/www/html/ or similar). Look for index.php and dashboard-specific files.
    Affected if Material Dashboard PHP application is present on the server
  2. Identify the installed version
    Check for a version file, composer.json, or README file within the Material Dashboard directory to determine the exact version number.
    Affected if Version cannot be determined or falls within vulnerable release(s)
  3. Find dynamic file inclusion patterns
    Search PHP source files for include, require, include_once, or require_once statements that incorporate variables from $_GET, $_POST, or $_REQUEST parameters.
    Affected if Code uses include/require with parameters like $_GET['page'], $_GET['filename'], or similar user-supplied values
  4. Examine the vulnerable parameter
    Review the specific PHP file handling the filename parameter. Look for code that passes the parameter directly to include/require without sanitization (no basename(), no whitelist check, no path traversal prevention).
    Affected if Filename parameter flows directly to include/require without validation or sanitization
  5. Test for LFI exposure
    If the vulnerable parameter is identified, attempt a controlled test request with a harmless file path (e.g., ../../etc/passwd or ../../index.php) to verify if arbitrary file access is possible.
    Affected if The application returns contents of files outside the intended directory

You are affected if you run Material Dashboard with PHP file inclusion code that uses user-supplied input without strict validation on the filename parameter.

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

Implement strict whitelist-based input validation for all file inclusion parameters, replace dynamic includes with fixed paths, and disable allow_url_fopen/allow_url_include to prevent remote file inclusion.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2025-31097 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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