CVE-2025-22145: Nesbot/carbon :setLocale Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-j3f9-p6hm-5w6q
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CWE-98
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2025-22145 is a MODERATE :setlocale vulnerability (CWE-98: Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion')) affecting Nesbot/carbon libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves :setlocale. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.8.4, 2.72.6.

CVE-2025-22145 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2025-22145
GHSA Identifier GHSA-j3f9-p6hm-5w6q
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score N/A
CWE Classification CWE-98: Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion')
Affected Product Nesbot/carbon
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

How to Fix CVE-2025-22145

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Nesbot/carbon dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

nesbot/carbon fixed: 3.8.4 
Upgrade nesbot/carbon to 3.8.4
nesbot/carbon fixed: 2.72.6 
Upgrade nesbot/carbon to 2.72.6
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for nesbot/carbon

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2025-22145, inspect your project dependencies for Nesbot/carbon:

inspect dependencies for nesbot/carbon

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Nesbot/carbon in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.8.4), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-98: Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion'), where the php application receives input from an upstream component, but it does not restrict or incorrectly restricts the input before its usage in "require," "include," or similar functions. In Nesbot/carbon, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

### Impact Application passing unsanitized user input to `Carbon::setLocale` are at risk of arbitrary file include, if the application allows users to upload files with `.php` extension in an folder that allows `include` or `require` to read it, then they are at risk of arbitrary code ran on their servers. ### Patches - [3.8.4](https://github.com/briannesbitt/Carbon/releases/tag/3.8.4) - [2.72.6](https://github.com/briannesbitt/Carbon/releases/tag/2.72.6) ### Workarounds Any of the below actions can be taken to prevent the issue: - Validate input before calling `setLocale()`, for instance by forbidding or removing `/` and `\` - Call `setLocale()` only with a locale from a whitelist of supported locales - When uploading files, rename them so they cannot have a `.php` extension (this is recommended even if you're not affected by this issue) - Prefer storage system that are not local to the application (remote service, or local service ran by another user so the uploaded files actually live outside of the application basedir) ### References https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_inclusion_vulnerability ### Credits Thanks to **Szczepan Hołyszewski** who reported the issue and to Tidelift to coordinate the resolution

CVE-2025-22145 Affected Nesbot/carbon Versions

2 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.8.42.72.6
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
nesbot/carbon
 Packagist
≥ 3.0.0
< 3.8.4
3.8.4
nesbot/carbon
 Packagist
< 2.72.6
2.72.6

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/CarbonPHP/carbon/security/advisories/GHSA-j3f9-p6hm-5w6q
NVD — CVE-2025-22145 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-22145
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/briannesbitt/Carbon/commit/129700ed449b1f02d70272d2ac802357c8c30c58
Nesbot/carbon Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/CarbonPHP/carbon
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/02/msg00032.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-22145?
CVE-2025-22145 is a security vulnerability in Nesbot/carbon involving :setLocale under CWE-98: Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion').
Which Nesbot/carbon versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.8.4, 2.72.6 across affected packages: nesbot/carbon.
What version fixes CVE-2025-22145?
Upgrading to 3.8.4, 2.72.6 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is nesbot/carbon affected?
Yes, nesbot/carbon is affected in releases prior to 3.8.4, 2.72.6. Upgrade your dependency to 3.8.4, 2.72.6 or later.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2025-22145?
CVE-2025-22145 is classified under CWE-98: Improper Control of Filename for Include/Require Statement in PHP Program ('PHP Remote File Inclusion') (The PHP application receives input from an upstream component, but it does not restrict or incorrectly restricts the input before its usage in "require," "include," or similar functions.).
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2025-22145?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for nesbot/carbon'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-j3f9-p6hm-5w6q",
  "modified" : "2025-02-25T18:39:47Z",
  "published" : "2025-01-08T21:03:28Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2025-22145" ],
  "summary" : "Carbon has an arbitrary file include via unvalidated input passed to Carbon::setLocale",
  "details" : "### Impact\nApplication passing unsanitized user input to `Carbon::setLocale` are at risk of arbitrary file include, if the application allows users to upload files with `.php` extension in an folder that allows `include` or `require` to read it, then they are at risk of arbitrary code ran on their servers.\n\n### Patches\n- [3.8.4](https://github.com/briannesbitt/Carbon/releases/tag/3.8.4)\n- [2.72.6](https://github.com/briannesbitt/Carbon/releases/tag/2.72.6)\n\n### Workarounds\nAny of the below actions can be taken to prevent the issue:\n- Validate input before calling `setLocale()`, for instance by forbidding or removing `/` and `\\`\n- Call `setLocale()` only with a locale from a whitelist of supported locales\n- When uploading files, rename them so they cannot have a `.php` extension (this is recommended even if you're not affected by this issue)\n- Prefer storage system that are not local to the application (remote service, or local service ran by another user so the uploaded files actually live outside of the application basedir)\n\n### References\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_inclusion_vulnerability\n\n### Credits\nThanks to **Szczepan Hołyszewski** who reported the issue and to Tidelift to coordinate the resolution",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "nesbot/carbon"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.8.4"
      } ]
    } ]
  }, {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "nesbot/carbon"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "2.72.6"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/CarbonPHP/carbon/security/advisories/GHSA-j3f9-p6hm-5w6q"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-22145"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/briannesbitt/Carbon/commit/129700ed449b1f02d70272d2ac802357c8c30c58"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/CarbonPHP/carbon"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/02/msg00032.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-98" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2025-01-08T21:03:28Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2025-01-08T21:15:13Z"
  }
}