What is GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP?

GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP is a medium-severity security vulnerability in phpxmlrpc/phpxmlrpc (composer), affecting versions < 4.9.0. It is fixed in 4.9.0.

Which versions of phpxmlrpc/phpxmlrpc are affected by GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP?

phpxmlrpc/phpxmlrpc (composer) versions < 4.9.0 is affected.

Is there a fix for GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP?

Yes. GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP is fixed in 4.9.0. Upgrade to this version or later.

Is GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk.

What actually determines whether GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP is exploitable, and how bad it is?

Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.

GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP in phpxmlrpc/phpxmlrpc

Q: Which versions of phpxmlrpc/phpxmlrpc are affected by GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP?

phpxmlrpc/phpxmlrpc (composer) versions < 4.9.0 is affected.

Q: Is there a fix for GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP?

Yes. GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP is fixed in 4.9.0. Upgrade to this version or later.

Q: Is GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP exploitable, and should I be worried?

Whether GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk.

Q: What actually determines whether GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP is exploitable, and how bad it is?

Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.

Q: How do I fix GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP?

Upgrade phpxmlrpc/phpxmlrpc to 4.9.0 or later.

Summary

XML-RPC for PHP allows access to local files via malicious argument to the Client::send method

Abusing the $method argument of Client::send, it was possible to force the client to access local files or connect to undesired urls instead of the intended target server's url (the one used in the Client constructor).

This weakness only affects installations where all the following conditions apply, at the same time:

the xmlrpc Client is used, ie. not xmlrpc servers
untrusted data (eg. data from remote users) is used as value for the $method argument of method Client::send(), in conjunction with conditions which trigger usage of curl as http transport (ie. either using the https, http11 or http2 protocols, or calling Client::setUseCurl() beforehand)
either have set the Clients return_type property to 'xml', or make the resulting Response's object httpResponse member, which is intended to be used for debugging purposes only, available to 3rd parties, eg. by displaying it to the end user or serializing it in some storage (note that the same data can also be accessed via magic property Response::raw_data, and in the Request's httpResponse member)

This is most likely a very uncommon usage scenario, and as such the chances of exploitation of this issue may be low.

If it is not possible to upgrade to this release of the library at this time, a proactive security measure, to avoid the Client accessing any local file on the server which hosts it, is to add the following call to your code:

  $client->setCurlOptions([CURLOPT_PROTOCOLS, CURLPROTO_HTTPS|CURLPROTO_HTTP]);

Originally reported as issue #81

Impact

Affected versions

phpxmlrpc/phpxmlrpc (< 4.9.0)

Security releases

phpxmlrpc/phpxmlrpc → 4.9.0 (composer)

Kodem intelligence

Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.

Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.

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Remediation advice

Upgrade phpxmlrpc/phpxmlrpc to 4.9.0 or later to resolve this vulnerability.

Kodem Kai can prioritize this vulnerability in your dependency tree and generate a fix recommendation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP? GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP is a medium-severity security vulnerability in phpxmlrpc/phpxmlrpc (composer), affecting versions < 4.9.0. It is fixed in 4.9.0.
Which versions of phpxmlrpc/phpxmlrpc are affected by GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP? phpxmlrpc/phpxmlrpc (composer) versions < 4.9.0 is affected.
Is there a fix for GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP? Yes. GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP is fixed in 4.9.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
Is GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
What actually determines whether GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
How do I fix GHSA-M95X-M25C-W9MP? Upgrade phpxmlrpc/phpxmlrpc to 4.9.0 or later.

Other vulnerabilities in phpxmlrpc/phpxmlrpc

CVE-IDSeverityPackage summary

GHSA-7VCX-V65Q-9WPGMediumphpxmlrpc/phpxmlrpc: XML-RPC for PHP's `Wrapper::buildClientWrapperCode` method allows code injection via malicious `$client` argument GHSA-PXQJ-XRV5-QVJFMediumphpxmlrpc/phpxmlrpc: XML-RPC for PHP's debugger vulnerable to possible XSS attack GHSA-Q7QQ-9GX2-GGXVMediumphpxmlrpc/phpxmlrpc: phpxmlrpc vulnerable to argument injection GHSA-3FGR-XJR6-XQM8Highphpxmlrpc/phpxmlrpc: code injection in phpxmlrpc/phpxmlrpc