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

CVE-2025-52809

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-06-27
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 John Russell National Weather Service Alerts national-weather-service-alerts allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects National Weather Service Alerts: from n/a through <= 1.3.5.

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

This is a PHP Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability in the National Weather Service Alerts WordPress plugin (versions <= 1.3.5). The vulnerability allows attackers to include arbitrary local PHP files via unsanitized user input in include/require statements, potentially leading to code execution.

MitigationRemediate by implementing strict input validation with allowlisting, using basename() to strip path traversal sequences, and avoiding dynamic file inclusion with user-supplied data. Upgrade to the latest patched version once 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. Locate the National Weather Service Alerts plugin installation
    Check your WordPress wp-content/plugins directory for a folder named 'national-weather-service-alerts' or search for files containing 'nws-alerts' in the plugin path. Also check via WordPress admin under Plugins > Installed Plugins.
    Affected if The plugin folder exists in your WordPress installation
  2. Identify the installed plugin version
    If the plugin folder exists, open the main PHP file (usually nws-alerts.php or similar) and look for the plugin header comment containing 'Version: x.x.x' or check the readme.txt file for the 'Stable tag' entry.
    Affected if The reported version number is 1.3.5 or lower (e.g., 1.3.4, 1.3.0, etc.)
  3. Verify the plugin is active on your WordPress site
    Log into WordPress admin and check if National Weather Service Alerts appears in the active plugins list, or query the wp_options table for option_name = 'active_plugins' and check for the plugin reference.
    Affected if The plugin is installed AND active (vulnerability only matters if the plugin code is actually being executed)
  4. Inspect for dynamic file inclusion patterns
    Examine the main plugin PHP files for include(), require(), include_once(), or require_once() statements that use variables or request parameters (e.g., $_GET, $_POST, $_REQUEST) without sanitization. Look for patterns like 'include($_REQUEST["file"])' or 'require($some_var)'.
    Affected if Dynamic include/require statements using unsanitized user input are present in the plugin code

You are affected if the National Weather Service Alerts plugin is installed, active, and running version 1.3.5 or lower, with vulnerable dynamic file inclusion code present in the plugin files.

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

Remediate by implementing strict input validation with allowlisting, using basename() to strip path traversal sequences, and avoiding dynamic file inclusion with user-supplied data. Upgrade to the latest patched version once available.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,800
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
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-2025-52809 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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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