What is the purpose of calling a PHP file through a PNG file?

The purpose of calling a PHP file through a PNG file is to disguise the PHP code as an image file, allowing it to bypass certain security measures that may block direct access to PHP files. This technique can be used to execute malicious code on a server by tricking it into processing the PHP code within the PNG file. To prevent this security vulnerability, it is important to ensure that the server does not execute PHP code within image files. This can be achieved by configuring the server to block PHP execution within certain directories or file types. 

// Example of blocking PHP execution within image files
<FilesMatch "\.(png|jpg|jpeg|gif)$">
    ForceType text/plain
</FilesMatch>

Keywords

PHP PNG file include server-side scripting security vulnerability

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