Cyber Resilience

CVE-2025-23938

High

Published: 22 January 2025

Published
22 January 2025
Modified
23 April 2026
KEV Added
—
Patch
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CVSS Score v3.1 7.5 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0156 81.9th percentile
Risk Priority 16 60% EPSS · 20% KEV · 20% CVSS

Summary

CVE-2025-23938 is a high-severity PHP Remote File Inclusion (CWE-98) vulnerability. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked in the top 18.1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).

Deeper analysis

The vulnerability CVE-2025-23938 is a PHP Local File Inclusion issue stemming from improper control of filenames in include or require statements, classified under CWE-98. It affects the Image Gallery Box plugin by CRUDLab for WordPress, impacting all versions through 1.0.3.

An attacker with low-privileged network access can exploit the flaw, though the attack requires high complexity. Successful exploitation grants the ability to include arbitrary local files, resulting in high impacts to confidentiality, integrity, and availability on the affected site.

The primary advisory reference is a Patchstack database entry that catalogs the Local File Inclusion vulnerability in the plugin and provides associated remediation guidance for WordPress site operators. The EPSS score remains low, with a current value of 0.0156 and a peak of 0.0196.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability details

Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') vulnerability in CRUDLab Image Gallery Box by CRUDLab image-gallery-box-by-crudlab allows PHP Local File Inclusion.This issue affects Image Gallery Box by CRUDLab: from n/a through <= 1.0.3.

CWE(s)
CWE-98

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
attack.mitre.org →
T1005 Data from Local System Collection
Adversaries may search local system sources, such as file systems, configuration files, local databases, virtual machine files, or process memory, to find files of interest and sensitive data prior to Exfiltration.
attack.mitre.org →
Why these techniques?

The LFI vulnerability in a public-facing WordPress plugin directly enables exploitation of public-facing applications (T1190) for initial access and unauthorized access to local system files for data collection (T1005), with high impacts on C/I/A via file inclusion.

Confidence: HIGH · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2025-68537Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-28079Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-28061Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-28048Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-22516Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-28120Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-67992Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-31432Shared CWE-98
CVE-2026-39613Shared CWE-98
CVE-2025-26957Shared CWE-98

Affected Assets

Mitigating Controls

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

SI-10 Information Input Validation good match
prevent

SI-10 mandates validation and sanitization of user-supplied filenames in PHP include/require statements to prevent local file inclusion attacks.

SI-2 Flaw Remediation good match
prevent

SI-2 requires timely identification, reporting, and correction of the specific flaw in the Image Gallery Box plugin enabling improper filename control.

AC-3 Access Enforcement partial match
prevent

AC-3 enforces access control policies to restrict low-privileged users from accessing or executing arbitrary local files via inclusion.

References