Critical CodeIgniter Flaw Exposes Millions of Web Apps to File Upload Attacks

A critical security vulnerability in CodeIgniter4’s ImageMagick handler has been discovered that could allow attackers to execute arbitrary commands on affected web applications through malicious file uploads.

The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-54418, has been assigned a maximum CVSS score of 10.0, indicating its severe nature and potential for widespread exploitation.

Vulnerability Overview and Attack Vectors

The newly identified flaw affects CodeIgniter4 applications that utilize ImageMagick for image processing operations.

Security researchers have identified two primary attack vectors that malicious actors can exploit to achieve command injection.

The first vector involves uploading files with specially crafted filenames containing shell metacharacters that get executed when the application processes images using the resize() method.

The second attack path exploits the text() method when user-controlled content or options are passed for adding text overlays to images.

Applications are particularly vulnerable when they allow users to upload files with custom filenames and subsequently process these images through CodeIgniter’s ImageMagick integration.

The vulnerability stems from insufficient input sanitization in the framework’s image handling routines, enabling attackers to inject and execute arbitrary system commands with the same privileges as the web server process.

The vulnerability’s critical rating reflects its potential for remote code execution without requiring authentication or user interaction.

Attackers can exploit this flaw through network-based attacks, making it particularly dangerous for publicly accessible web applications.

CodeIgniter developers have released version 4.6.2 to address this security flaw, and administrators are strongly urged to update immediately.

For organizations unable to patch immediately, several workarounds are available. The most effective temporary solution involves switching from ImageMagick to the GD image handler, which remains unaffected by this vulnerability.

Additional protective measures include implementing strict filename generation using CodeIgniter’s getRandomName() method or the store() method for file uploads.

Organizations continuing to use ImageMagick should implement robust input sanitization, particularly for text operations involving user-controlled content.

The discovery of this vulnerability underscores the critical importance of regular security updates and proper input validation in web application frameworks.

Given the widespread adoption of CodeIgniter in web development, security teams should prioritize patching efforts to prevent potential exploitation.

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