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

CVE-2025-52728

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-14
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 WebCodingPlace Responsive Posts Carousel Pro responsive-posts-carousel-pro allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Responsive Posts Carousel Pro: from n/a through <= 15.0.

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

This is a PHP Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability in the Responsive Posts Carousel Pro WordPress plugin. The vulnerability allows attackers to manipulate file inclusion paths in PHP include/require statements, potentially executing arbitrary PHP code by including malicious local files.

MitigationImmediately disable or remove the Responsive Posts Carousel Pro plugin until a patched version is available. If the plugin must remain in use, implement strict input validation and use whitelisting for any file path parameters to prevent path traversal.

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. Verify Responsive Posts Carousel Pro plugin is installed
    Check the WordPress plugins directory (wp-content/plugins/) for a folder named 'responsive-posts-carousel-pro' or check via WordPress admin dashboard under Plugins
    Affected if The plugin folder exists in the WordPress installation
  2. Identify the installed plugin version
    Open the main plugin PHP file (usually responsive-posts-carousel-pro.php) and locate the version header comment or the version defined in the plugin metadata
    Affected if The version number is lower than the patched version (contact vendor for current safe version)
  3. Check for vulnerable file inclusion code patterns
    Search the plugin directory for PHP include/require statements that use user-supplied parameters without proper sanitization. Look for patterns like 'include($_GET[...])' or 'require($_POST[...])' in the plugin files
    Affected if Any include/require statements accept unsanitized input from $_GET, $_POST, or similar superglobals
  4. Identify exposed entry points
    Review plugin files for AJAX handlers, shortcodes, or callback functions that may accept file path parameters. Check if these are accessible without authentication via wp-admin/admin-ajax.php or similar public endpoints
    Affected if The plugin exposes file inclusion functionality to unauthenticated or low-privileged users

You are affected if the Responsive Posts Carousel Pro plugin is installed and its file inclusion functionality can be accessed without proper path validation.

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

Immediately disable or remove the Responsive Posts Carousel Pro plugin until a patched version is available. If the plugin must remain in use, implement strict input validation and use whitelisting for any file path parameters to prevent path traversal.

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-2025-52728 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
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