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

CVE-2025-31098

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-04-03
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
82/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges

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 debounce DeBounce Email Validator debounce-io-email-validator allows PHP Local File Inclusion. This issue affects DeBounce Email Validator: from n/a through <= 5.7.

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 Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability in the DeBounce Email Validator PHP library. Attackers can manipulate filename parameters in include/require statements to read arbitrary files from the server's filesystem. The vulnerability exists in versions up to and including 5.7, stemming from improper validation of user-supplied input used in PHP include/require functions.

MitigationFix by implementing strict input validation using allowlists, applying basename() or realpath() sanitization functions, and avoiding direct use of user input in include/require statements. Alternatively, refactor to use a switch/case or array-based file mapping instead of dynamic includes.

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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/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 the installed version of the DeBounce Email Validator library
    Check your project's composer.json file for the debeounce/email-validator package version, or inspect the main library file (typically in vendor/debounce/email-validator/) for a version constant or CHANGELOG file
    Affected if The installed version is 5.7 or any earlier version (e.g., 5.6, 5.5, etc.)
  2. Locate PHP files that use include or require with DeBounce library code
    Search your codebase for PHP files in the vendor/debounce/email-validator/ directory, particularly those containing include(), require(), include_once(), or require_once() statements
    Affected if The library contains include/require statements that process user-controlled input
  3. Inspect the library code for dynamic file inclusion patterns
    Examine the PHP files identified in the vendor/debounce/email-validator/ directory. Look for include/require statements where variables or parameters (especially $_GET, $_POST, or function arguments) are used directly in the file path without sanitization
    Affected if User-supplied input (request parameters, function arguments) flows directly into include/require statements without validation through functions like basename(), realpath(), or allowlist checking
  4. Verify input validation on file inclusion operations
    Review the code around include/require calls to determine if user input is validated. Check for the presence of basename(), realpath(), preg_match() allowlists, or switch/case/array-based mapping as shown in official documentation examples
    Affected if No input validation is present, or user input is used directly in include/require without sanitization functions

You are affected if the DeBounce Email Validator library version is 5.7 or below AND your application passes unsanitized user input to include/require statements within the library code.

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

Fix by implementing strict input validation using allowlists, applying basename() or realpath() sanitization functions, and avoiding direct use of user input in include/require statements. Alternatively, refactor to use a switch/case or array-based file mapping instead of dynamic includes.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,840
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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-2025-31098 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
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data