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

CVE-2025-39468

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-11-06
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 pantherius Modal Survey modal-survey.This issue affects Modal Survey: from n/a through <= 2.0.2.0.1.

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

A Remote File Inclusion (RFI) vulnerability exists in the pantherius Modal Survey WordPress plugin (versions <= 2.0.2.0.1). The plugin improperly handles file path inputs in PHP include/require statements, allowing attackers to include remote or local files by manipulating input parameters. This can lead to arbitrary code execution on the affected server.

MitigationUpdate Modal Survey to the latest version once a patch is released, or implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block directory traversal and remote URL inclusion patterns in plugin requests until a fix is available.

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. Verify Modal Survey plugin is installed
    Check the WordPress plugins directory for the modal-survey or pantherius-modal-survey folder. Common path: wp-content/plugins/modal-survey/ or wp-content/plugins/pantherius-modal-survey/. List contents using: ls wp-content/plugins/ | grep -i modal
    Affected if The modal-survey or pantherius-modal-survey folder exists in the plugins directory
  2. Identify the installed plugin version
    Open the main plugin file (often modal-survey.php or similar in the plugin folder) and look for the Version header in the plugin comment block at the top. Alternatively, check readme.txt for the version line.
    Affected if The version displayed is 2.0.2.0.1 or any version number numerically less than or equal to 2.0.2.0.1
  3. Confirm plugin is active on the site
    Query the WordPress database: SELECT * FROM wp_options WHERE option_name = 'active_plugins'; Or use WP-CLI: wp plugin list --status=active --name=modal-survey
    Affected if The plugin appears in the list of active plugins
  4. Check PHP allow_url_include setting
    Create a PHP info file (phpinfo.php) with content: <?php phpinfo(); ?> and access it via browser, or run: php -i | grep allow_url_include. Look for the allow_url_include directive.
    Affected if allow_url_include is set to On (this enables remote file inclusion)
  5. Inspect plugin for vulnerable include/require patterns
    Examine PHP files in the plugin folder for include(), require(), include_once(), or require_once() statements that use variables in the path without proper sanitization. Search using: grep -rn '\$.*include' wp-content/plugins/modal-survey/
    Affected if Any include/require statements accept user-controlled input without validation (requires code review)

If the Modal Survey plugin versions 2.0.2.0.1 or below are installed and active, the environment is affected by this RFI vulnerability.

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 Modal Survey to the latest version once a patch is released, or implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to block directory traversal and remote URL inclusion patterns in plugin requests until a fix is available.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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Scan for this in your stack

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dbcve dependency scanner

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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-2025-39468 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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