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

CVE-2025-53257

HIGH · 7.5 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 →
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 Serhii Pasyuk Gmedia Photo Gallery grand-media allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Gmedia Photo Gallery: from n/a through <= 1.23.0.

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 · high confidence

A PHP Local File Inclusion (LFI) vulnerability exists in the Gmedia Photo Gallery plugin (grand-media) where the application improperly handles filenames in include/require statements. Attackers can exploit this to include arbitrary local PHP files, potentially achieving remote code execution. The vulnerability affects all versions through 1.23.0.

MitigationFix requires source code changes to implement strict input validation on file inclusion parameters, restricting includes to whitelisted paths and preventing directory traversal sequences.

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. Identify if Gmedia Photo Gallery plugin is installed
    Check your WordPress installation for the grand-media plugin folder in wp-content/plugins/ and confirm the plugin files exist
    Affected if The grand-media plugin is present in the plugins directory
  2. Check the installed plugin version
    Open the main plugin file (typically grand-media.php or index.php in the grand-media folder) and locate the version string in the plugin header comment
    Affected if The version is 1.23.0 or lower (the summary indicates all versions through 1.23.0 are affected)
  3. Locate file inclusion code patterns
    Search the plugin source code for include, require, include_once, or require_once statements that use variables in the path parameter without proper sanitization
    Affected if File inclusion statements accept user-controlled input without validation or path traversal checks
  4. Verify the vulnerable parameter is exposed
    Test whether the file inclusion parameter (the one used in include/require) can be manipulated through HTTP requests (e.g., GET/POST parameters)
    Affected if The parameter controlling the file inclusion is directly used in include/require statements and can be influenced by user input

You are affected if the grand-media plugin is installed with version 1.23.0 or lower and the file inclusion parameter accepts unsanitized user input.

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 requires source code changes to implement strict input validation on file inclusion parameters, restricting includes to whitelisted paths and preventing directory traversal sequences.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2025-53257 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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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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