Overview
The following report details a significant security vulnerability, CVE-2025-52728, found within the Responsive Posts Carousel WordPress Plugin. This flaw exposes systems to PHP Local File Inclusion (LFI) attacks, potentially leading to system compromise and data leakage. Developers, administrators, and users leveraging this plugin need to be aware of this vulnerability due to its high severity and the potential for misuse.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-52728
Severity: High (7.5 CVSS Score)
Attack Vector: Remote
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: System compromise and data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
Responsive Posts Carousel WordPress Plugin | from n/a through 15.0
How the Exploit Works
The flaw lies in the “Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program” within the WordPress plugin. This allows an attacker to perform a PHP Local File Inclusion attack. By manipulating the file include statements, an attacker can trick the system into executing arbitrary PHP code in the server context, potentially leading to total system compromise.
Conceptual Example Code
Below is a high-level, conceptual example of how this vulnerability might be exploited:
GET /wp-content/plugins/responsive-posts-carousel/file.php?path=../../../../../etc/passwd HTTP/1.1
Host: vulnerablewebsite.com
In this hypothetical example, the attacker attempts to access and display the contents of the ‘/etc/passwd’ file, a common Unix-based file containing user information. If successful, this could reveal sensitive information to the attacker.
Mitigation Guidance
To mitigate this vulnerability, users are advised to apply the vendor-supplied patch as soon as possible. If a patch is not yet available, using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can provide temporary mitigation. These systems can potentially block or alert on attempts to exploit this vulnerability.

