{"id":59848,"date":"2025-08-03T12:41:46","date_gmt":"2025-08-03T12:41:46","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-10-06T17:18:50","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T23:18:50","slug":"cve-2025-54418-codeigniter-command-injection-vulnerability-in-image-processing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameeba.com\/blog\/cve-2025-54418-codeigniter-command-injection-vulnerability-in-image-processing\/","title":{"rendered":"CVE-2025-54418: CodeIgniter Command Injection Vulnerability in Image Processing<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n

A recently identified vulnerability, CVE-2025-54418, has been discovered in the PHP full-stack web framework, CodeIgniter. This vulnerability can lead to command injection attacks, potentially compromising systems or leading to data leakage. It specifically affects applications that use the ImageMagick handler (`imagick` as the image library) for image processing and allow file uploads<\/a> with user-controlled filenames or use user-controlled text content or options. As such, all organizations and developers using affected versions of CodeIgniter need to be aware of the risks and take immediate action to secure their systems<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Vulnerability Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

CVE ID: CVE-2025-54418
\nSeverity: Critical (9.8)
\nAttack Vector: Remote
\nPrivileges Required: None
\nUser Interaction: Required
\nImpact: Command injection leading<\/a> to potential system compromise or data leakage<\/p>\n

Affected Products<\/strong><\/p>\n

Product | Affected Versions<\/p>\n

CodeIgniter | versions prior<\/a> to 4.6.2<\/p>\n

How the Exploit Works<\/strong><\/p>\n

The vulnerability arises due to the way CodeIgniter handles image processing<\/a> with ImageMagick. If an application uses the `resize()` method to process uploaded images with user-controlled filenames or the `text()` method with user-controlled text content or options, an attacker can exploit<\/a> this vulnerability.
\nThe attacker can upload a file<\/a> with a malicious filename containing shell metacharacters that get executed when the image is processed. Alternatively, they can provide malicious text content or options that get executed when adding text to images<\/a>. This can lead to command injection<\/a> attacks, potentially compromising the entire system or leading to data leakage.<\/p>\n

Conceptual Example Code<\/strong><\/p>\n

The following is a conceptual example of a malicious filename that an attacker could use to exploit this vulnerability<\/a>:<\/p>\n

'; rm -rf \/;'.jpg<\/code><\/pre>\n
If an application uses this filename to process an image, the shell command `rm -rf \/` would be executed<\/a>, deleting all files on the system.<\/p>\n
Recommendations<\/strong><\/p>\n
Users should upgrade to CodeIgniter<\/a> version 4.6.2 or later to receive a patch that fixes this vulnerability. Alternatively, they can switch to the GD image handler (`gd`, the default handler), which is not affected by this vulnerability<\/a>.
\nFor file upload<\/a> scenarios, users should generate random names to eliminate the attack vector with `getRandomName()` when using the `move()` method, or use the `store()` method, which automatically generates safe filenames. For text operations, if one must use ImageMagick with user-controlled text, sanitize the input to only allow<\/a> safe characters and validate\/restrict text options.
\nIn addition, deploying a Web<\/a> Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can serve as temporary mitigation against this vulnerability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Overview A recently identified vulnerability, CVE-2025-54418, has been discovered in the PHP full-stack web framework, CodeIgniter. This vulnerability can lead to command injection attacks, potentially compromising systems or leading to data leakage. It specifically affects applications that use the ImageMagick handler (`imagick` as the image library) for image processing and allow file uploads with user-controlled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"vendor":[],"product":[],"attack_vector":[78],"asset_type":[],"severity":[],"exploit_status":[],"class_list":["post-59848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","attack_vector-injection"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t