CVE-2025-49271
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 · uneditedImproper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in GravityWP GravityWP - Merge Tags gravitywp-merge-tags allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects GravityWP - Merge Tags: from n/a through <= 1.4.4.
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 confidenceThis is a Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability in the GravityWP Merge Tags WordPress plugin (versions up to 1.4.4). The plugin improperly validates filenames used in PHP include/require statements, allowing attackers to include arbitrary PHP files from the server's filesystem by manipulating input parameters.
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm GravityWP Merge Tags plugin is installedCheck the WordPress plugins directory for the gravitywp-merge-tags folder, or list installed plugins via WP-CLI: wp plugin list --name='gravitywp-merge-tags'Affected if The plugin folder or listing exists in the WordPress installation
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Identify the installed plugin versionRead the version number from the plugin's main PHP file header or from readme.txt in the plugin directory (wp-content/plugins/gravitywp-merge-tags/)Affected if The version number is 1.4.4 or lower
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Determine if the vulnerable include functionality is activeReview the plugin's PHP code for include/require statements that use user-supplied parameters (look for $_GET, $_POST, or similar input used in include/require without validation)Affected if The plugin code contains include/require statements that incorporate request parameters without sanitization
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Check for exploitation indicators in access logsSearch web server access logs (Apache/Nginx) for suspicious patterns like '../' directory traversal sequences in query parameters that may target the plugin's include functionalityAffected if Log entries show directory traversal attempts (e.g., ../../) in parameters likely processed by the plugin
You are affected if GravityWP Merge Tags plugin version 1.4.4 or lower is installed AND the plugin uses include/require logic that processes unsanitized user input.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpdate GravityWP Merge Tags to the latest version beyond 1.4.4. If immediate patching is not possible, disable the plugin or deploy WAF rules to block directory traversal patterns in HTTP request parameters.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-49271 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-49271 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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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